BETHESDA, Md., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- In these uncertain economic times, Renaissance Hotels&Resorts is raising the bar for community engagement. From urban to suburban hotels, Renaissance associates are pitching in.

A sampling of how Renaissance Hotels&Resorts around the country reach out to their local communities:

-- The Renaissance Orlando Hotel Airport reaches out to their community each year by painting a house for a family of five in the Kissimmee area through Habitat for Humanity. And in August, the hotel hosted the B.A.S.E Camp event for Central Florida children and families facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. -- The Renaissance Nashville Hotel, for the 12th year in a row, has served the Kid's Cafe program at Martha O'Bryan Center throughout the entire year, as well as hosted the Kid's Cafe Holiday Party with 1000 children, including providing food, toys, and pictures taken with Santa, games, face painting, and entertainment. -- The Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel helps the local community get into the holiday spirit by decorating themed Christmas trees sponsored by local companies, then auctioning them off at a reception to benefit the Boys &Girls Club of Las Vegas. -- The Renaissance Resort at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Florida participates yearly in the St. Johns County Festival of Trees where over 65 local organizations and companies donate uniquely decorated trees with the proceeds benefiting two local charities, The St. Augustine Record's Empty Stocking Fund and the United Way of St. Johns County. -- The Renaissance Del Monte Lodge in Rochester, NY truly believes in the saying "Give a man a fish; you have fed him for today. Teach a man to fish; and you have fed him for a lifetime." The hotel plays a large role in the local Culinary Camp for the Boys and Girls Club of Rochester by donating time, staff and facilities. -- The Renaissance ClubSport in Walnut Creek, California strives to be a good corporate citizen by participating in many local and national fundraisers, such as the Lance Armstrong LiveStrong Foundation, Toys for Tots, and One Warm Coat. -- The Renaissance Schaumberg Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, reaches out to the community through Clearbrook, an organization that assists in connecting individuals with disabilities with corporate companies for hire. The hotel has become a training site for Clearbrook and has hired several individuals. -- The Renaissance Worthington Hotel in Fort Worth, Texas, has hosted students from area schools for a summer day camp/workshop experience for the 16th summer in a row. Students participate in a mixture of classroom instruction and hands on experience as an introduction to careers in the hospitality industry. -- The Renaissance Washington DC Hotel's associates raise over $40,000 each year through local fundraising efforts for Children's Miracle Network. In addition, the hotel has given nearly $100,000 in in-kind room nights and meals to its selected charities. -- The Renaissance Ft. Lauderdale Hotel is the local host hotel for the nationwide Torch Relay for Children's Miracle Network, and a majority of the hotel's employees participate in the combined bike-a-thon and walk-a-thon, with proceeds benefiting an area hospital program. -- The Renaissance New York Times Square Hotel joins together each year for the Aids Walk, Breast Cancer Walk, Hotel Trades and Hotel Associates Walkathon for Sanctuaries for Families and City Harvest. -- The Renaissance Westchester Hotel reaches out to the local community many times throughout the year by participating in the annual March for Babies Walk with the March of Dimes, the Westchester Food Bank Food Drive, the American Red Cross White Plains Division Blood Drive, and the Children's Miracle Network. -- The Renaissance Atlanta Hotel Downtown prepared and provided Christmas Day meals for 200 attendees for the Atlanta Battered Women's Shelter. -- The Renaissance Charleston Hotel Historic District donated food to the local fire station for Thanksgiving. Associates from the hotel have also donated various items to be shipped to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq with the organization Project Patriot. -- The Renaissance Waverly Hotel ordered an 800 lb. pumpkin and set-up in lobby. They invited elementary age children to decorate for Halloween, and then used the pumpkin(s) to make 200 pumpkin pies for the homeless/hungry at Thanksgiving. -- The Inn at Bay Harbor, a Renaissance Golf Resort in Bay Harbor, Michigan participates in the annual Spa Day for Aids, a unique, national one-day fundraising event benefiting women and children living with HIV/AIDS. -- The Depot Minneapolis, a Renaissance Hotel has partnered with a local charity, Hope for the City. This year alone the hotel has donated 842 lbs of food, predominantly through employee donations.

Renaissance is a brand of Marriott, which has a long history of Community Engagement and Social Responsibility. Last year, the company branded and focused its "Spirit To Serve Our Communities" program to address these signature issues, which spell "SERVE": Shelter and Food, Environment, Readiness for Hotel Careers, Vitality of Children, and Embracing Diversity and People with Disabilities.

For more information about the charitable programs listed above, please contact Jackie Berra at jackie.berra@marriott.com. For more information about Renaissance Hotels&Resorts, please visit http://www.revealrenaissance.com/.

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Renaissance Hotels&Resorts is an upscale brand providing full-service accommodations with local flair to discriminating business and leisure travelers at more than 140 properties in 28 countries. The brand's presence is strong in the U.S. and worldwide, with approximately half of its properties in North America and half throughout Europe, South America, the Caribbean, the Middle East and Asia.

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Visit http://creativeservices.0catch.com/boilerplate/ for Marriott International, Inc.'s company information.