CHART Hotel and Restaurant Training Professionals Volunteer at The New Roots Community Farm During Hospitality Conference

CHART attendees help refugees become self sufficient

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART, www.chart.org) held their 20th Community Service Event during their 85^th hospitality training conference in San Diego. A group of conference attendees arrived a day early to give back to the host city and volunteer at The New Roots Community Farm (www.rescue.org/us-program/us-san-diego-ca/fsch), a project of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in San Diego, which provides farming space and opportunities to over 80 families.

“Our service events, while offering networking among attendees, also promote volunteerism which members can bring back to their respective restaurants and hotels”

On Saturday, February 23, 2013, the CHART volunteers traveled to a formerly vacant 2.3 acre lot in San Diego's densely populated City Height’s neighborhood, to assist with various tasks such as gardening, planting, weeding, mulching, composting, etc. The farm provides an opportunity for recently resettled refugees to become self-sufficient and contribute through community gardening, nutrition education and small-business farming. With training, tools and land provided by the IRC, refugees share their agricultural skills and produce affordable, locally grown vegetables and fruit for their families and their neighbors.

“Our service events, while offering networking among attendees, also promote volunteerism which members can bring back to their respective restaurants and hotels," said John Kelley, Vice President of Training and Human Resources at White Castle System Inc and President of CHART.

Priya Reddy, Community Development and Advocacy Coordinator for IRC said, “We rely on volunteer support because many of the gardeners here work multiple jobs, have young children, and limited transportation. Those challenges make it difficult for them to maintain their gardens and tackle large projects, like the growth cutback project the CHART group completed."

“The four guiding principles of CHART are Learning, Sharing, Growing, and Caring,” stated Patrick Yearout, Director of Training, Ivar’s Restaurant and Service Event Director for CHART’s San Diego Conference. “Our service events clearly demonstrate our core principles and give attendees the opportunity to pay it forward.”

Community service projects have been incorporated into CHART’s semi-annual conferences since 2002. Photos of this 20th semi-annual community service event can be found on our website in our News Room Photo Gallery (http://chart.org/newsroom/galleries/) as well as on our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/CHARTtrainers). There is also a video entitled, “Leave It Better than We Found It” which is on our YouTube channel at: www.youtube.com/user/ChartTube1.

CHART hosted more than 150 hospitality professionals from across the nation at The Westin San Diego in San Diego, CA February 23- 26, 2013. The focus of the conference was on competency-based certificate tracks of learning and development along with a multitude of networking opportunities and sharing of best practices.

CHART’s 86th Hospitality Training Conference is scheduled for July 20 - July 23, 2013 at the InterContinental Miami in Miami, FL. Another service event will take place then in addition to an array of educational sessions led by hotel and restaurant industry experts, motivational speakers, authors, and consultants.

For more information, please call 312.405.2634, email [e-mail], or visit www.chart.org.

CHART (www.chart.org), a non-profit professional association founded in 1970, is the leading resource for the development and advancement of hospitality training professional and their organizations. With more than 450 members from more than 300 multi-unit restaurant and hotel companies, CHART represents a workforce of almost five million. CHART includes all facets of hospitality training, learning and performance professionals; from entry level to senior executive. CHART’s mission is to develop hospitality training professionals to advance industry training practices and improve operational results by providing access to education, tools and resources.

The New Roots Community Farm (www.rescue.org/us-program/us-san-diego-ca/fsch) is part of the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to help recently resettled refugees to become self-sufficient and contribute to their new home in the United States through community gardening, nutrition education and small-business farming. With training, tools and land provided by the IRC, refugees share their agricultural skills and produce affordable, locally grown vegetables and fruit for their families and their neighbors. Spanning 22 U.S. cities, New Roots is an essential part of the IRC’s broader efforts in over 40 countries to help communities build a more secure and sustainable future.