Haiti

Royal Gives Back: Why we put Community on High Priority

My name is Helen O’Connell and I have been the Manager of Community Relations for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. for over 7 years. I oversee our employee volunteer programming and corporate giving as well as work with our many charity partners. Readers have asked about our “company giving” strategy. Indeed, as a large global cruise brand, our giving back to the community is a huge priority. Our Community Relations department receives thousands of requests each year, and it is a painstaking process to filter through them to find the right ones to fund. Instead of donating small amounts to a large number of organizations, we really try to make a difference with our giving and have focused our energy on children and families with an emphasis on foster care, education, and marine conservation. While those three issue areas sound broad, we rely on a very detailed application and guideline process to help us narrow down these fields.

The request letters continually pour in, we read them and it is sometimes very hard to say “No” to so many worthwhile charities. Our small Community Relations team is very animal friendly, so the letters from all the Humane Societies and animal shelters are especially hard to refuse. But, we are determined to make a difference in the communities with which we live and work, encouraging volunteerism and donating what we can.

Our Royal Caribbean International brand has a wonderful partnership with the Make-A-Wish Foundation (MAW). Over the past 11 years, we have sent thousands of Wish families on cruises and have executive officers that sit on their local MAW chapter board. Each June, we run a program named Destination Joy and let our ships be creative in fundraising with our guests onboard and enjoy a little competition between the ships. When we get the results of their hard work in July, we are always blown away by the results!
Last year in January, all of the normal work in our office came to a screeching halt when the earthquake hit Haiti, our corporate partner for more than 30 years. We immediately launched a massive effort to transport relief supplies on all our Labadee, Haiti- bound ships and donated the profits for two months from our private destination there to the Solano Foundation in Haiti, collected funds onboard our ships around the globe for Food for the Poor and contributed to Pan American Development Foundation (PADF) to provide relief aid to our employees and their families who live in Haiti. This past fall, we completed the construction of our first school in Haiti L’Ecole Nouvelle. Royal Caribbean International is fortunate to be able to help the people in the Labadee community, but there is much more work to do.

Right now, our office is full steam ahead with planning for G.I.V.E. Day, our corporate volunteer day. We plan local projects in cities where we have offices in the US and our employees come with their families to assist with cleaning, painting and landscaping; Wichita and South Florida offices are having their days in April then the other cities will have their projects in the late Spring & Summer. G.I.V.E. stands for Get Involved Volunteer Everywhere and this year, we will be celebrating our 13th year. Check out some of our projects on our G.I.V.E. Day website.

Since our neighbors in Japan experienced multiple earthquakes, a tsunami followed by snow with freezing temperatures, and a nuclear threat, the number of inquiries from our ships, guests and offices has grown - all wanting to help collect funds for relief efforts in Japan. We have partnered with World Vision and they are currently on the ground in Japan providing emergency supplies. Our ships are collecting funds from guests through auctions, special events onboard and donations on their SeaPass. World Vision created a page on their website for any guests, employee’s, vendors, family and friends who want to contribute to World Vision’s Japan Quake and Tsunami Relief Fund.
Our company also sponsors mentor programs as well as a partnership with our local United Way. These are just the highlights of the many ways we give back to our community.
BY:Helen O'Connell|13th April, 2011 4 Comments

A Team Truly Anchored in Excellence

Anchored in Excellence. Three of my favorite words. We created this phrase 12 years ago to describe our aspiration for our people and our relationship with our employees and guests. It is about our company, not just the Royal Caribbean International brand. In fact, we developed Anchored in Excellence after we brought Celebrity Cruises into the company alongside Royal Caribbean International. The Anchor in Anchored is from Royal Caribbean’s crown & anchor symbol. The X in Excellence is from Celebrity’s symbol.

The expression of Anchored in Excellence takes many forms, from a simple credo card, to the annual visits of every ship in the fleet by senior operations management. I intend no higher praise than when I tell a ship, department, team, or person, that they are Anchored in Excellence.

The qualities of being Anchored in Excellence are exhibited every day in countless ways. Most of them in the delivery of Gold Anchor Service to our guests onboard the ships, but also shoreside across the globe, and in innumerable ways. However, every once in a while there is a major tangible expression of what it means to be Anchored in Excellence. One such example occurred last week, and I can summarize it by repeating here the internal letter I broadcast by email to our people across the company:

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Dear Employees:.

Please join me in expressing my appreciation and gratitude to the crew onboard Legend of the Seas for their valiant efforts. .

Monday, as Legend of the Seas was sailing in the Taiwan Strait, it received a distress call from the Panama-registered freighter Xin Yi. Legend of the Seas noted the position and set a course towards the location. Legend of the Seas was the first ship to arrive at the distressed ship, which was sinking. Faced with very rough seas and heavy winds up to 75 miles per hour, crew members onboard Legend of the Seas immediately began search and rescue operations. Once the Taiwan Coast Guard arrived at the location, they began assisting with air and sea searches. Together with the Taiwan Coast Guard, Legend of the Seas was able rescue three of the crew and assist in the rescue of another nine of the cargo ship’s 22 crew members.

After taking part in the rescue operation for approximately 12 hours, the ship was advised by the Coast Guard that they would assume control of the search for the remaining missing crew members. Legend of the Seas resumed its journey to Hong Kong with three of the rescued sailors onboard. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the cargo ship’s 22 crew members and their families. .

To the Captain, Officers and crew of Legend of the Seas - we are extremely proud of your important contribution to this unfortunate event. Congratulations on a job well done!

This was an awful situation. Even the ship’s heroic efforts could not prevent loss of life as at least one crew member was confirmed dead, and at least three were still missing as of last report. But if Legend of the Seas had not responded in the manner it did, the outcome would have been much worse still. I cannot describe how I feel about Legend of the Seas’ team more powerfully, and succinctly, than to say they are truly Anchored in Excellence.

It is already a great accomplishment to make such an impact once in a year. But I am proud to say that this episode is only one of many such examples from 2010, which has also included our Haiti earthquake relief efforts, the opening of the new primary school on our property at Labadee, the repatriation by Celebrity Eclipse of UK citizens trapped on tour in Spain by the volcanic eruption in Iceland, and many local community service efforts around the world.

BY:Adam|25th October, 2010 12 Comments

My Haiti, Child Welfare, & Energy Security Efforts

My other involvements are as dynamic as ever. I’m not talking about the Phillies’ quest for a third straight National League pennant or the young Eagles’ aspiration to soar. I’m talking about Haiti, Child Welfare and Energy Security.

As many readers know, I am intensely interested in the Citadelle becoming a serious tourist attraction on the north coast of Haiti. We expect to be the “launch customer” with our guests at Labadee. John Weis did Haiti a great service by spearheading the development plan. With adequate funding, it should not take more than a few months for the Citadelle to receive visits. There is a reconstruction commission that should be making funding decisions for projects, such as the Citadelle, and there is some indication the process is unfolding. There is a risk that Haiti election politics will distract, or even overwhelm, the reconstruction decision making. I recently received an invitation to participate on a panel about Haiti, at the Clinton Global Initiative in September and I am looking forward to it.

Child welfare isn’t easy. The progress Our Kids has made in Miami-Dade County and the Florida Keys is reflected in the metrics and in the kudos our staff is receiving from many quarters. We are excelling in adoptions, highly recognized for getting medical and dental care for children, and for the technology that supports our caseworkers as they visit the children.

Unfortunately, there is a major controversy surrounding funding for the young adults who have “aged out” of the foster care system at age 18. Many of these young adults are eligible for support known as “Independent Living (IL)” or the “Road to Independence.” Whatever the moniker, this is a problem area. Children who have had every advantage in life would likely struggle under the conditions these young adults encounter as they try to master life skills, pursue their education, and hold down one or more jobs. It’s not surprising IL kids face elevated risk of homelessness and crime. The controversy emanates from the Florida Legislature’s decision not to fully fund the IL program for this fiscal year. From Our Kids’ point of view, we cannot take monies that were appropriated for children less than 18 years of age and move them to support the young adults over 18. While the Legislature’s action appears to and may be insensitive, it is forcing a discussion about the substance of the IL program which is beset by many issues besides the funding level. It’s hard to see any easy way out of this issue.

Finally, in the world of energy security, there is growing momentum for the electrification of road transport. Congress did not take action before the recess; therefore, action may not occur before the November election. There is mounting evidence that endangered species - bipartisan support, could be sighted in this context as it passed the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 19-4. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid included electrification in his slimmed down energy bill and the Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said it was one of the three areas in which he believed he could find agreement with the President and Democrats.

The Energy Security Leadership Council, to which I belong, continues to work behind the scenes to convey to the Legislative and Executive Branches that a meaningful U.S. commitment to electric vehicles would benefit the environment, our national security, and the economy. Of course, the environmental impact would depend on what energy sources are powering the electric vehicles (it should be noted that filling an electric car from electricity from a coal fired power plant is still better from an emission standpoint than a current internal combustion engine). Because there are so many potential energy sources for the grid, it is reasonable to expect that over time the role of fossil fuels would reduce and alternative energy sources would grow. Some would say electric cars are the only vehicles that will get cleaner as they get older!

BY:Adam|20th September, 2010 6 Comments

Guest Post - John’s Journey to Haiti: Conclusion of the 4 Part Story

For everyone who has followed my story up until this point, we’ve witnessed the awe-inspiring advancement and outpouring effort across every front of Haiti’s rebuild. From the first shipments of medical and relief supplies transported on Royal Caribbean ships, to the housing camps and school construction and restoring a sense of order and decency back to daily life; the progress has been powerful.

In addition to these projects, I’m also working on the development of the Citadelle as a tourist destination for our guests. The Citadelle Laferrière is a large mountaintop fortress located near Labadee and the town of Milot. At the base of the Citadelle there are the ruins of the Palais de Sans-Souci, which was the home of King Christophe. These structures were built between 1805 and 1820 and were part of defense system designed to protect the country from incursions from the French.

The goal of this project is to develop the infrastructure so the sites can receive guests from Royal Caribbean, which in turn creates sustainable businesses and jobs in the area. To complete this task, we had to develop the logistical plan, safety enhancements, proposed tour routes, and timing along with identifying the basic infrastructure such as roads and waterside enhancements. I have included a link to what we have submitted to the Ministry of Tourism just to give you an idea of what this tour could look like. I have included pictures of the Citadelle itself. In this case, the pictures simply don’t do it justice.

No guarantee this tour will become a reality but we are pushing for it.

At this point I have completed my official assignment in Haiti but there is still a significant amount of work that has to be completed. More than likely, I will be involved with these projects as they develop so I will provide updates via Adam’s blog if I’m invited to do so again.

BY:Adam|13th July, 2010 18 Comments

An Update on Royal Caribbean’s Newest Partnerships for Haiti’s Reconstruction

The project partners met with the President and Prime Minister of Haiti last week and, not surprisingly, they were very supportive of the project. Our view is that these types of projects are critical to move Haiti forward. While there are many other issues occupying the world’s attention, not least of which is the oil spill in the Gulf, Royal Caribbean will continue to take an active role in Haiti’s long-term rebuilding as promised. There are no illusions here. Haiti faces incredible challenges that are far beyond any one company’s capacity to solve. But we are committed to play our part.I hope our readers are enjoying John Weis’ series on his time in Haiti helping President Clinton and Paul Farmer with their relief efforts and the beginning of the reconstruction process. If there are aspects of John’s coverage that you would like to have him further explore, please let me know. I am proud of the extent and quality of the assistance that John provided. He makes things happen even in the most challenging of circumstances. That is a characterization that suits Haiti well. Now John is “back” doing his normal job, which still involves driving our efforts to construct a new school in Labadee, and to galvanize the Citadelle restoration project. Congratulations to John on a job very well done.

Continuing on the Haiti front, last week there was a press announcement that Royal Caribbean will be working together with Bob Johnson and his team at the RLJ Companies as well as WIN, a successful local Haitian business group, to foster economic development in Haiti. The particular focus in the beginning will be to construct two factories that will build a special kind of structural panel that is hurricane and earthquake resistant, yet economical for applications such as our school project, housing development and other commercial applications. These panels are a product of the GBS Company from Charleston, South Carolina that partnered with the RLJ Companies to build an upscale hotel in Liberia a few years ago.

The project partners met with the President and Prime Minister of Haiti last week and, not surprisingly, they were very supportive of the project. Our view is that these types of projects are critical to move Haiti forward. While there are many other issues occupying the world’s attention, not least of which is the oil spill in the Gulf, Royal Caribbean will continue to take an active role in Haiti’s long-term rebuilding as promised. There are no illusions here. Haiti faces incredible challenges that are far beyond any one company’s capacity to solve. But we are committed to play our part.

BY:Adam|12th July, 2010 4 Comments

Guest Post - John’s Journey to Haiti: Part 3 of the 4 Part Story

As mentioned in my last post, we have been working with Maryse Kedar to establish temporary schools in some of these camps. So far there are 14 primary schools and seven kindergartens impacting over 3,000 children. If Maryse and her organization didn’t take the initiative to establish these schools, 3,000+ children would not have this advantage and necessity of life. There isn’t room for everyone, but for the kids attending these schools, it’s making a difference. Pictures speak a thousand words so here are the results of all the hard work:

Putting these schools together was truly a team effort so I wanted to show you a picture of the team that did the majority of the heavy lifting making these schools possible.

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BY:Adam|6th July, 2010 No Comments

Guest Post - John’s Journey to Haiti: Part 2 of the 4 Part Story

Before continuing to the next part of my journey, I should tell you that I’m no stranger to Haiti or its people. Leading Royal Caribbean’s nearly 30 year-long relationship with the country, my involvement in Haiti’s revival began long before the earthquake. While developing Royal Caribbean’s private destination at the port of Labadee for the Oasis of the Seas, my tourism path took an unexpected twist. I became a humanitarian aid coordinator overnight. From mobilizing deliveries of food and medical supplies on our ships to teaming up with smaller organizations to support the construction of schools and orphanages, this assignment has transcended the word “job” and become a life-changing undertaking.

I’m proud of how Royal Caribbean has put real people on the ground in Haiti and positioned teams spanning medical relief to infrastructure rebuild. We’ve chosen to pitch in and advance, rather than pull out and abandon Haiti in this grief-stricken hour. As one of its loyal investors, Royal Caribbean has played an integral role in Haiti’s economic progress. Stationed inside the temporary housing camps, I’m eager to share my account of Haiti’s aftermath, recovery—and Royal Caribbean’s plan to ensure long-term success and stability to this beautiful island.

My last article left you looking into the eyes of this family in Haiti. Like most struggling through Haiti’s chaotic aftermath, this family was unsure what new hardships each day would bring. Thanks to housing camps and a collective foundation of order, structure and humanity are being restored.

In speaking with the father, I learned this family had lost everything; they were only able to salvage some clothes out of the wreckage of their house along with some sheets and other materials to make their shelter. He said he was making the best of the situation and wasn’t sure about the future, but they would make it through. He also made it clear that especially now, the most important thing for him was to make sure his boys went to school and that they looked “respectable.” The father’s trust in making the most of their present situation and his commitment to his children’s education shows his courage and his strength. Looking at the picture of him standing next to his sons, it is easy to see the love that holds them all together.

Going though the camps, you saw this situation a lot; fathers and mothers trying to keep their families together through very tough times and trying to do the best for their children. Being a father myself, you try to put yourself in this situation and anything else going on in your life seems trivial compared to this family and what they will have to go through in the next couple of months, especially during the rainy season. To help ease the challenges, Royal Caribbean is supporting ProDev’s temporary schools and the installation of water tanks to help provide education for the children and clean drinking water for the people living in the camps.

The children in the camps really kept me focused and were huge motivators. These kids are the future for Haiti’s recovery and helping provide these children with a quality education is very important for the long-term success and stability of Haiti. When you walk through these camps, children are everywhere and love to interact with you. They really put a meaning into why you’re in Haiti trying to make a difference. Here are some of the children who live in the camp:

Join me again next week when I’ll take you inside the temporary schools erected in the housing camps. We’ll meet the team members behind these feats of construction, and witness their compassion and dedication to this community. Brightened by the faces of smiling children, it’s within these classrooms that Haiti’s rebuild will become a reality.

Article by John Weis, Associate Vice-President of Private Destinations for Royal Caribbean International

BY:Adam|29th June, 2010 2 Comments

Guest Post - John’s Journey to Haiti: Part 1 of the 4 Part Story

It’s been over four months since I began my assignment helping with the disaster recovery in Haiti, and to say it has been a life changing experience would be an understatement. I have seen things I never thought I would; possibly in the movies, but never in real life. I have also met hundreds of people dropping everything in their normal lives to come down here and live in difficult conditions to help people they have never met. Most of these people said they had a “calling” to help, and many ended up falling in love with the Haitian people after working here for a period of time. This is especially true of those that worked with the children. I also had the privilege of working with people I’ve known over the years that really stepped up to the challenge and ended up playing a leading role in the recovery effort. It was extremely gratifying to see this, and I was proud of them.

As for me, my focus was on helping organizations that were not familiar with operating in Haiti. We would help coordinate their shipments of relief supplies and make sure they reach their people on the ground. I also worked with these organizations to build their skill sets and capacity internally, so they could coordinate their own shipments going forward. In addition, I’ve also been working on some of the more strategic initiatives in the area of education, health and long-term growth, specifically job creation. One area of particular interest is the development of the Citadelle as a guest destination. I will share more details on this later in this blog.

Before I go any further, I want to make sure I recognize the people I’ve been working with. As most of these initiatives are a team effort, I have the privilege of writing about them on Adam’s blog.

First and foremost, I want to mention Maryse Kedar and her husband Daniel. They were on the ground during the quake and their organization ProDev, was one of the first to take action by setting up water tanks in the camps, and then temporary schools for the thousands of children in these camps. Their team, led by Sharon Ramon (one of those people who dropped everything to help those in need), set the foundation for the curriculum and organizational structure for Royal Caribbean’s school initiative. This is something else I will share with you later in the blog.

Next is Lauren Ordway, who works for Royal Caribbean in the area of Safety and Environment, and coordinated the logistics associated with sending down hundreds of pallets with relief supplies via Royal Caribbean ships. These supplies consisted of everything you can imagine from medical supplies, construction material, oxygen generators, food, clothing and dialysis machines. A good portion of these supplies came from Compassionate Alliance who was with us from day one. There were many organizations working with us, but this one in particular really went above and beyond for Haiti, and I want to commend them for this.

Completing the difficult task of unloading and distributing these supplies was David Southby and Dave Scott. These two alternated as site managers for Labadee, and had the unenviable task of making sure that donated supplies were distributed to the communities fairly, and that assigned donations got to their NGO partners on the ground. The word “difficult” doesn’t fully capture the full scope of this task, so I will just say thank you.

Finally there was Gary Bald, Richard Pruitt and Steve Williams who worked to coordinate the overall effort from a leadership, medical and direct resource standpoint. Anything I asked for, these guys came through with executive support, medical expertise or the intellectual capital I needed to push through a problem.

I think it goes without saying, much appreciation goes to Craig Milan, Adam Goldstein and Richard Fain who had no hesitation supporting Haiti’s relief effort in spirit and, most importantly, from a resource and financial standpoint. I can honestly say there was never a moment of hesitation in making the generous commitment they made to this relief effort.

I think I covered everyone, but that’s the problem when you start thanking people individually; there are so many, and inevitably, someone gets left out. So, if you’re one of those people, thanks!!!!!

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BY:Adam|22nd June, 2010 No Comments

Guest Post: Moving Forward In Haiti

From John Weis

Well, it’s been approximately 2 months since my last blog about Haiti and the start of my assignment and I wanted to share with you some of the experiences and projects we’re working on. In summary, it’s been an emotional roller coaster ride with its share of rewarding experiences and frustrations in terms of helping as many people as you can but not helping enough.

Adam asked me to write this a couple of weeks ago but at the time I was in a very frustrated state of mind with projects that were not moving forward, communities not getting enough help and things grinding to a halt. If I wrote the blog then, it would have not been very positive, so I wanted to spare you the whining and write this when there was more progress going on down there.

In short, there is progress being made but at a very slow pace. The immediate relief in terms of medical, rescue and security was handled by a variety of international organizations including the US Military, Israeli Government, Red Cross and a host of other groups that are too numerous to count. There were also smaller organizations on the ground referred to as NGO’s (Non-Government Organization) that assisted in the relief effort and most of them are in it for the long haul.

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BY:Adam|2nd April, 2010 9 Comments

Guest Post: Delivering Relief Supplies to Royal Caribbean’s Haitian Employees and their Families

Most of you are aware that Royal Caribbean has been providing relief supplies to the people of Haiti after the devastating earthquake. What most people don’t know is what we have been doing to help our Haitian employees and their families. Steve Christian, of our Human Resources Department, recently traveled to Labadee to oversee the delivery of supplies to our Haitian employees and their families. Here is Steve’s account:

At the time of the earthquake, 158 Haitians were serving onboard Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity ships, another 200+ Haitian employees were working at our Labadee site, and we had 50 crew members who were on vacation, presumably at home in various cities throughout Haiti.

A few days after the earthquake, Royal Caribbean announced that we would be working closely with four different relief agencies in Haiti: Compassion Alliance, Food for the Poor, the Solano Foundation, and the Pan American Development Foundation. Each of those agencies was involved in off loading supplies from our ships and transporting them to distribution sites throughout Haiti. While we were pleased with the results our partnerships were producing, we were hearing from our employees and their families that relief supplies were not reaching them quickly enough.

We decided it was time to contact Compassion Alliance to see if they could set aside some supplies just for our families. Our contact at Compassion Alliance, Paul Romine, was more than willing to help. In fact, he and his team offered to assemble 250 special “care packages” just for our folks, and all we needed to do was give them a “wish list” of items to be put in the care packages.

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BY:Adam|10th March, 2010 7 Comments
 

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