Rotana Corporate Sustainability Report 2014

86 Earth Day, Battle of the Bottles Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana initiated the ‘Battle of Bottles’ boat race, a unique environmental sport activity realised under the umbrella of Earth Day 2014. By organising the ‘Battle of Bottles’ boat race, Khalidiya Palace Rayhaan by Rotana celebrated Earth Day 2014 in Abu Dhabi with the aim to show support for the protection of the environment and to educate the audience towards climate change and creating a sustainable future for the planet and our children. The boats registered for racing were solely made out of recyclable materials, mainly plastic PET bottles. Innovative and creatively designed boats were paddled and peddled to the opposite island and back in a nail biting contest that lasted 15 minutes. Each team battling to win the coveted trophy of recycled water bottles. 10 Rotana hotels in Abu Dhabi participated in the boat race Beach Rotana, UAE Make a Difference Day The hotel hosted its annual charity event, ‘Make a Difference Day’ for the 13 th and 14 th year running in 2013 and 2014. The afternoon event, offered families a fun day out where kids enjoyed a variety of activities such as a bouncy castle and other carnival games. The most popular activity of the afternoon was the dunking pool. The hotel collected more than 130,000 USD and were donated to different charitable organisations. Al Murooj Rotana, UAE Fun Day with special needs The SNF Development Centre provides an institution for young adults with special needs and their inclusion into the common workplace and to be independent in a variety of daily activities. The children and the dedicated team of SNF were treated to an exciting event day planned in collaboration with the centre’s management and featured fun games for the students with prizes and gifts, a breakfast and lunch buffet prepared by the hotel’s master chefs and multiple other activities set up by the hotel team. 839 colleagues donated 378,000 ml blood, equivalent to 252 large bottles of water. Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana, UAE Children’s Day ‘Fun Day Event’ The hotel celebrated Children’s Day by inviting children with special needs along with their teachers for lunch. They enjoyed the entertainment and shows like magic show, face painting, cupcake decoration, and clown with balloon making and took with them special giveaways. The children thanked the team by presenting a dance number where all in the room danced with them. Give Blood, Save Lives Rotana hotels organised blood donation campaigns in an effort to educate the community about the importance and benefits of donating blood to help save lives.