PHUKET, March 19, 2010 – Teams of Accor employees from around Asia Pacific begin arriving in Phuket from today, commencing the final countdown for the official start of “Accor Race to Survive” fundraising event on Monday, March 22, 2010.

Participants have been training hard to get fit enough to complete the rigorous four-day race (March 22-25), but they worked harder to raise as much money as possible, in most cases exceeding the US$7,000 minimum requirement to join the event.

Accor’s Vice President of Operation for Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, Oswald Pichler, said one reason he put his heart and soul into Accor’s Yim Kids Foundation was to help Bangkok’s Mercy Centre.

“After my first visit to Mercy Centre I saw that these children need all the help they can get. When you look into their eyes, you see they yearn and dream of a better life. All they ever wanted was to have a family that loves them, a chance for proper education and a job after school. When they laugh and smile their whole world brightens, as if these hopes and dreams can come true.”

According to Mr Pichler, who was one of the founders and a driving force behind Accor Yim Kids Foundation (“Yim” is a Thai word for “smile”), the success of this charity is measured in both funds raised and Thai smiles.

“We at Accor would do anything to keep these kids smiling for a lifetime.” he added. “That was the mindset behind creating a charitable foundation dedicated to improving the social well being of Thai children.”

Mercy Centre’s Father Joseph Maier said: "We at the Mercy Centre greatly appreciate the efforts of Accor Yim Kids Foundation and all those involved in the ‘Race to Survive Phuket 2010’. It has already raised awareness, and will help the country’s poorest children to persevere in the most difficult of life’s circumstances. This event is an outstanding way for those involved to show their concern and care for these children."

Yvette Peverell, a participant from Australia said: “I am looking forward to the challenges that race will bring and just hope that all the training kicks in when I needed it! However, I joined this event not because of ‘me’, but it’s really all about how ‘we’ can do something for these kids. If what I do can make a difference, or even a small change or improvement to their lives, all of the hard work will be well worth it.”

Accor Race to Survive is an established, dynamic fundraising event to raise funds through sponsorship of teams that are made up of Accor employees and friends. Over the course of four days - March 22 - 25, 2010 - teams from all corners of the globe will travel to Phuket and will push their bodies and minds to the limit, completing strenuous daily combinations of swimming, mountain biking, kayaking and running. Many of the team members participating in the race are hoteliers, not professional athletes, but all are training hard and truly committed to the fundraising event.

The success of Accor’s Race to Survive for Yim Kids is reliant on team fundraising, public support, and the sponsorship and generosity of corporate sponsors. Gold sponsors of the event are: Accor Asia Pacific, Ecolab, HotelTravel.com, King Power Group, Syntec and V Australia.

Through the Yim Kids Foundation, Accor is creating sustainable, incremental and prudent improvements to the social well being of children through assistance in the following projects:

1. Support the cost for children’s education in the Mercy Centre’s Bangkok slum school. There are around 300 children at the school and the cost for each child to receive a proper education is approximately US$57 per child per year.
2. Support the health and medical-related cost for 63 orphaned and abandoned children with HIV/Aids at the Mercy Centre.
3. Assist communities in Koh Lon by expanding their sustainable fishing program to improve their livelihoods, enabling the children from these communities to continue their secondary-level education in Phuket.
4. Provide education funds to help the children of sea gypsies and rubber tree tappers in Phuket whose livelihoods and way of life have been affected by the Tsunami in 2004.

Companies or individuals who would like to contribute to either the ‘Accor Race to Survive Phuket 2010’or the Yim Kids Foundation can do so by logging on to www.yimkids.com.

Contacts:

Vasu Thirasak
Accor Thailand
Vasu.Thirasak@accor.com
(66) 2659-4620

Tom Racette – Embedded Correspondent
HotelTravel.com
Tom.R@hoteltravel.com
(66) 7628-2808