The Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) and its chapters have donated $54,000 to charities across the USA and provided community service in several cities as part of its 2005 Network for the Needy program.

The PCMA Network for the Needy promotes volunteerism and donations of food and products through meetings and convention events. The program is sponsored by a generous grant from GES Exposition Services.

PCMA led the way by donating $24,000 to Hawaiian charities in January during the 2005 PCMA Annual Meeting in Honolulu, including donations from many PCMA members.

The local chapters of PCMA also have a long history of sponsoring community service activities. Under the umbrella of the Network for the Needy program, PCMA chapters are already busy this year reaching out to communities in need across the nation.

Several activities include:

In February, the Pacific Northwest Chapter (PNC) donated $5,000 to the Children’s Home Society of Washington; the amount was matched by a CHS board member for a total of $10,000. The money was raised from a series of 50/50 raffles at PNC Meetings and from the chapter’s November 2004 wine tasting and silent auction event. Currently, PNC is soliciting in-kind donations at its events for donation to Food Lifeline, a food distribution center that supplies meals to shelters and other food programs throughout Western Washington State.

The Rocky Mountain Chapter “All Heart’s” Auction raised approximately $2,000 for Denver’s Table, a Food Bank of the Rockies program. The Chapter also conducted an Easter basket drive for the Denver Department of Human Services that help to brighten Easter for the elderly, developmentally disabled adults, and more than 1,000 children dealing with issues of abuse and neglect.

The POWER Chapter, based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is sponsoring a “Dress for Success” program — donating career clothing in Pittsburgh for low-income women entering the workforce.

The Southeast Chapter will participate in the American Cancer Society’s “Relay for Life,” an overnight track run that raises funds for cancer research and support programs. The event takes place at North Atlanta High School on Friday, May 20, 2005 and runs until Saturday morning.

In February, the New England Chapter held a donation drive for the Needham Community Council, a charity that provides food, clothing, transportation, and other services for those in need. On April 6, 2005, Chapter members volunteered at the Boston Food Bank by helping out in the both the kitchen and warehouse.

The Capital Chapter recently donated $1,700 to Gospel Rescue Ministry in Washington DC, and the Embry Rucker Shelter in Reston, VA; both provide temporary housing, food, and counseling for those in need. Chapter members are active at both sites through serving dinners, holding donation drives, and organizing activities for children. The Chapter also held a coat drive that provided over 40 coats and various warm, winter accessories to the Fairfax County Coat Closet. Throughout the year, members will be preparing and serving food at the Ronald McDonald House in both Fairfax, Virginia, and Washington DC.

In February, the Heartland Chapter raised approximately $6,000 for Operation Breakthrough, an organization that strives to help children who are living in poverty develop to their fullest potential. On June 24, 2005, the Chapter will bring children from Operation Breakthrough to the zoo. The Chapter will hold its annual bowl-a-thon on August 8, 2005.

The Southwest & Pacific Chapter donated blankets to Project Linus, an organization that provides handmade, washable blankets to seriously ill and traumatized children. The Chapter will hold its 2nd annual bowl-a-thon in July, with proceeds benefiting its adopt-a-family program.

During its March Quarterly Meeting, the Greater Midwest Chapter (GMC) presented a $15,500 check to the Illinois Fire Safety Alliance; the money was raised from a silent auction during its November 2004 bowl-a-thon. GMC also sponsored a donation drive for IFSA’s “Camp I am Me,” a children’s camp for burn victims. Chapter members plan to volunteer at the Camp on June 22, 2005. On May 24, 2005, members will box up food at the National Restaurant Association show for donation to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.

“This spirit of service is what motivates others to act,” says Sarah Corradino, PCMA Manager of Community Service. “Many organizations have the desire to implement volunteer projects; they simply don’t know how or they fear liability issues. This is why PCMA developed the Network for the Needy program—to provide meeting professionals with the tools needed to initiate community service activities and make meeting and convention volunteerism a standard practice in the hospitality industry.”

The PCMA Network for the Needy program includes three major initiatives:

Volunteer Projects. PCMA and its chapters incorporate volunteer projects into meeting and convention activities. The PCMA Hospitality Helping Hands event takes meeting attendees to an off-site volunteer project at the PCMA Annual Meeting.

This year, more than 70 PCMA members spent a half-day scrubbing walls, painting, cleaning bathrooms, and repairing a basketball court at the Kalihi Valley Housing Community Center, a public housing facility for more than 2,000 low-income residents.

Members raised $10,500; a $6,500 cash donation was given to the Kalihi Valley Resident Association and an additional $4,000 was donated in supplies and services.

Food and Product Donations. Donation of excess food from meeting events is a simple way for the hospitality industry to give back to local communities. Almost all major cities have food rescue programs in place to distribute food to those in need; a listing of local food banks across the nation is available on the PCMA Web site.

The exhibitor product donation program links vendors and charities together to allow for the donation of items such as over-the-counter medical supplies, office and school supplies, housewares, building materials, and clothing. GES Exposition Services has volunteers continually available to help exhibit organizers make these donations, even at shows where GES is not the exposition contractor.

Party with a Purpose. Party with a Purpose is a fundraising event held each year at the PCMA Annual Meeting that has raised over $1 million for local charities in Annual Meeting host cities, the PCMA Education Foundation, and the Network for the Needy during the past 12 years.

At the 2005 PCMA Annual Meeting, Party with a Purpose raised $17,500 for HUGS, a Hawaiian charity dedicated to providing support services for families with children that have life-threatening or medically fragile illnesses.

For more information on the PCMA Network for the Needy and to learn more about how to organize a volunteer project for a meeting or convention, visit www.pcma.org or contact Sarah Corradino at scorradino@pcma.org or 312-423-7232.