Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts® Donates $60,000 To Four Deserving Charities Through Its "Charity Foursome" Program

ATLANTA, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is pleased to announce the final donation from its "Charity Foursome" program, which kicked off Memorial Day weekend at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial and concluded on the Fourth of July. Four organizations benefited from the engaging program, Birdies for the Brave, Shelter In a Storm, Cook Children's Medical Center and The First Tee of Fort Worth. During the tournament, each professional golfer played to benefit one of the four charities; Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts donated $100 for every birdie and $500 for every eagle made by each golfer to their corresponding charity, up to $50,000. 

Crowne Plaza's dedicated Facebook fans also played an integral part in the program by choosing which charity they wanted Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts to donate an additional dollar to on their behalf, up to $10,000. More than 7,000 fans took part in the effort on Facebook. Participating fans were automatically entered to win a golf weekend getaway for four.

"In our sixth year as the title sponsor of the Crowne Plaza Invitation at Colonial, we've continued the tradition of charitable giving and have extended this to the fans at home this year," said Gina LaBarre, vice president, Americas Brand Management, IHG. "Through this program, we're supporting a wide range of deserving organizations that make an impact at the global, national and local Fort Worth level, and it's amazing to see the golf community and our fans come together to lend a helping hand." 

To create awareness for the Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts "Charity Foursome" program and to help fans identify the corresponding charity for each golfer, the players' caddies wore one of the four charity names on their caddy bibs. Brand spokesperson and PGA TOUR pro Rickie Fowler and his caddy Joe Skovron starred in a video in support of the "Charity Foursome" program and encouraged consumer participation through the Facebook application. The video can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyo5f2UIydk.

The full Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts "Charity Foursome" donation breakdown is as follows:

• Birdies for the Brave: $15,913.50
• Cook Children's Medical Center: $15,691.50
• First Tee of Fort Worth: $14,393.50
• Shelter in a Storm: $14,001.50

IHG is the Official Hotel and Resort Partner of the PGA TOUR, Champions Tour and Nationwide Tour. In addition to the official marketing relationship, IHG's Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts brand is the title sponsor of the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial through 2015. The Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial is the longest running PGA TOUR tournament still being held at the original site (since 1946). For more information, visit www.CrownePlaza.com/Invitational.

About Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts
As part of the IHG global portfolio, Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts is a dynamic hotel brand located in nearly 60 countries around the world in major urban centers, gateway cities and resort destinations. As the forth largest upscale hotel brand in the world, Crowne Plaza was recently recognized by Lodging Hospitality magazine as one of the industry's top-growing brands and travel buyers rated Crowne Plaza as the top upscale/select-service brand in Business Travel News' 2011 U.S. Hotel Chain survey. Truly international, Crowne Plaza offers premium accommodation, designed for the discerning business and leisure traveler who appreciates simplified elegance combined with the practicality of the latest features, as well as value for money. At Crowne Plaza, guests can enjoy a 24-hour business service, wireless high speed internet access in the lobby plus fitness and leisure facilities. For reservations at Crowne Plaza properties, visit www.crowneplaza.com or call 1-800-2CROWNE. Twitter: www.twitter.com/crowneplaza or Facebook: www.Facebook.com/crowneplaza.

Notes to Editors:

About IHG
IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global organization with nine hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites®, Candlewood Suites®, as well as our two newest brands, EVEN™ Hotels and HUALUXE™ Hotels & Resorts. IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world's first and largest hotel loyalty program with over 65 million members worldwide.

IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns over 4,500 hotels and more than 661,000 guest rooms in nearly 100 countries and territories. With more than 1,000 hotels in its development pipeline, IHG expects to recruit around 90,000 people into additional roles across its estate over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

Visit www.ihg.com for hotel information and reservations and www.priorityclub.com for more on Priority Club Rewards. For our latest news, visit www.ihg.com/media, www.twitter.com/ihgplc, www.facebook.com/ihg or www.youtube.com/ihgplc.

About IHG Shelter in a Storm Program
When natural and man-made disasters strike, people naturally come to hotels to seek shelter in a storm. This is a key role of hotels in society, and one that is really important to all the communities in which they operate. The IHG Shelter in a Storm Program provides guidance on when and how to react to disasters, ensuring a quick and effective response to crises affecting IHG branded hotels, their employees and the local community. A key element of our disaster response is the IHG Shelter Fund which is built up by fundraising activities throughout the year. As a result, we are able to respond as soon as disaster strikes ensuring we can provide vital assistance right away.

About Birdies for the Brave
Since 2005, the PGA TOUR has proudly supported Birdies for Brave, a national military outreach initiative dedicated to honoring and showing appreciation to the courageous men and women of our U.S. Armed Forces and their families. Together with TOUR players, corporate partners, tournament fans and TPC club members, the TOUR has raised millions of dollars annually for military homefront groups that are supported by TOUR players, which provide critical programs and services to meet the specialized needs of wounded warriors and military families through fundraising events held at TPCs nationwide. Other Birdies for the Brave activities include Military Appreciation Day celebrations and Patriots' Outpost military hospitality chalets during TOUR tournaments, as well as the opportunity for military members and their families to attend many TOUR events on a complimentary basis. To learn more about Birdies for the Brave, please visit www.birdiesforthebrave.org. or follow them on Facebook.

About The First Tee of Fort Worth
The First Tee of Fort Worth is a youth development organization that uses golf as its vehicle to teach Life Skills and The First Tee's Nine Core Values to children in the greater Fort Worth community. The First Tee of Fort Worth is one of over 200 chapters of The First Tee, an organization that is recognized as one of the premier youth character-education programs in the country. Founded in 2004, The First Tee of Fort Worth is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization impacting  over 20,000 youth annually in and around Fort Worth.

About Cook Children's Health Care System
Cook Children's Health Care System is a not-for-profit, nationally recognized pediatric health care organization comprised of eight entities – a Medical Center, Physician Network, Home Health company, Northeast Hospital, Pediatric Surgery Center, Health Plan, Health Services Inc., and Health Foundation. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the integrated system has more than 60 primary and specialty care offices throughout North Texas. Its service region includes Denton, Hood, Johnson, Parker, Tarrant and Wise counties, with an additional referral area encompassing nearly half the state.

Cook Children's traces its roots back to 1918, but throughout its continual change and robust growth, it still embraces an inspiring promise – to improve the health of every child in its region through the prevention and treatment of illness, disease and injury. To live up to this promise, Cook Children's combines the art of caring with the use of leading technology and extraordinary collaboration to provide exceptional care for every child, every day. For more information, please visitwww.cookchildrens.org

SOURCE Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts