The holiday season is all about the spirit of giving; being thankful for what you have and reaching out to help those less fortunate. Our Hello! Destination Management teams partnered with some of our favorite charitable organizations this past December to spread joy and cheer during this magical time of year. From Christmas Angels to toy drives and fun nights for at-risk youth, our Hello! family across the U.S. opened their hearts in a big way to help make dreams come true.

Hello! Arizona and The Salvation Army

The Hello! Arizona team gathered to participate in the annual Christmas Angel program, sponsored by a local Arizona television station and The Salvation Army. The team shopped for 12 children in need and fulfilled their holiday wish lists. From bicycles to Easy-Bake ovens, the team searched high and low in local Arizona stores to make every child’s Santa list come true. Hello! Arizona was so excited to participate in this wonderful Phoenix/Scottsdale tradition, which has been providing children in need with Christmas smiles for over 30 years.

Hello! Florida (Central), Mears Transportation Group, and Robert Half

Hello! Florida (Central) joined Mears Transportation Group to assist Robert Half in their Holiday Toy Drive to benefit the local Boys & Girls Clubs. Numerous team members brought new, unwrapped toy items for children ages 5-7. The children received so much support, we not only filled the box, it overflowed! Robert Half was able to hand-select 2,500 toys and fill over 200 bags for all of the children attending the Holiday Toy Celebration on Saturday, December 9 at our local Orlando Chapter of the Boys & Girls Club. Since Robert Half began working with the Boys & Girls Clubs, their annual toy drive and holiday party has touched the lives of 3,000 club members. We were overjoyed to join Robert Half in ensuring that each child’s holiday was extra special.

In addition to our work with Robert Half, Mears and Hello! Florida (Central) also held a Holiday Raffle Drawing in which all proceeds went to benefit The Russell Home for Atypical Children, a non-profit organization that cares for brain-damaged children who would otherwise be institutionalized.

Hello! Florida (South) and Covenant House

Kim Davis, Hello! Florida Account Executive, and Lauren Berbusse, Hello! Florida Account Manager, participated in a December Kids’ Fun Night at the Covenant House in Fort Lauderdale. Along with their location in Orlando, Covenant House Florida serves runaway, homeless, and at-risk youth under 21, including teen parents and their babies. Each year Covenant House Florida reaches hundreds of kids via street outreach, crisis shelters, transitional housing projects, and aftercare, making it one of the largest private agencies serving runaway and homeless youth in the state of Florida. The Kids’ Fun Night attended by Kim and Lauren featured holiday karaoke and ornament painting. They had a fantastic time at the event and it was such a joy to see the kids escape from their challenging circumstances for a while and have fun just being a kid again.

Hello! Las Vegas and the "Fill-A-Bag with Cheer" Program

As part of their annual tradition, Hello! Las Vegas participated in the Las Vegas Hospitality Association’s (LVHA) "Fill-A-Bag with Cheer" program. Conceived and implemented in 2008 in conjunction with the Clark County School District, each year LVHA chooses a local elementary school with a large number of underprivileged children. The chosen school then provides LVHA with a list of students who can benefit from the program. Each LVHA member has the opportunity to "adopt" one or more children from the school and provide them with holiday gifts. LVHA and its members host a party and personally deliver their "Bags of Cheer" to the children. The program has grown to support over 300 underprivileged children in its short history and truly brings the holiday spirit to all involved.

It’s been our pleasure to partner with these worthy organizations this past Holiday Season and we look forward to contributing even more in the future. For more information about how you can help, please visit:

The Salvation Army:
http://www.salvationarmyusa.org

Robert Half (Inquire About Their Toy Drive):
https://www.roberthalf.com/

The Russell Home for Atypical Children:
https://www.russellhome.org/

Covenant House Florida:
http://www.covenanthousefl.org/

Las Vegas Hospitality Association:
http://mylvha.org/