MIAMI, April 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- More than 800 employees, family members and friends from Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises will spend the day April 1 in schools, child-care centers, summer camps and other venues providing hands-on work to repair, beautify and create environments that enrich the lives of their fellow citizens.
Teams of Royal Caribbean employees from Miami, Wichita, Seattle and Anchorage will paint cottages, plant gardens, remove trash, prepare meals and participate in several other volunteer projects during G.I.V.E. Day, the largest annual community service event held by a South Florida-based company. G.I.V.E. stands for Get Involved Volunteer Everywhere.
"This is our ninth annual G.I.V.E. Day, and it is more important than ever for all of us to take time to help our communities," said John Fox, vice president of Government and Community Relations for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. "We have more than 800 people volunteering their day, which will benefit them as much as the communities we are helping."
Three projects are planned for Miami, where the company is based. Three also are planned in Wichita, where the company maintains a customer service center. Events are also scheduled for Seattle and Anchorage.
The Miami projects include:
* Painting six cottages and the chapel at His House Children's Home, a non-profit Christian organization that provides temporary homes for abused and neglected children.
* Painting four cottages at the Association for Retarded Citizens, which acts as a voice for all persons with mental retardation and other disabilities in South Florida.
* Painting the exterior of the 60,000-square-foot Yeshiva Elementary School and replanting a herb and flower garden. The school provides a Jewish education to all families, regardless of their financial situation.
The Wichita projects include:
* Picking up trash, trimming grass, weeding and mulching at the non-profit Sedgwick County Zoo.
* Picking up brush, setting up cots, preparing the miniature golf area, and painting court markings to assist the Starwoods Girl Scouts' Summer Camp
* Stuffing River Festival button packages for the 35th annual Wichita River Festival, the largest such event held in Kansas.
The Seattle project is:
* Preparing dinner for children and their families staying at the Ronald McDonald House, which assists families with children undergoing medical care. (This event will take place on April 27.)
The Anchorage project is:
* Cutting brush at the University Lake Park, to open sight lines.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, with a combined total of 28 ships in service and one under construction and four on firm order. The company also offers unique land-tour vacations in Alaska, Canada and Europe through its cruise-tour division. Additional information can be found on http://www.royalcaribbean.com/ , http://www.celebrity.com/ or http://www.rclinvestor.com/ .
