Sabre Employees Raise More Than $1.1 Million to Support Charities in Communities Worldwide

SOUTHLAKE, Texas, Jan. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- A record number of global Sabre employees completed the 2013 Give Time Together community volunteer campaign and raised over $1.1 million through global efforts during Give Together, Sabre's annual week of fundraising.  

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Give Together is Sabre's largest philanthropic undertaking and has raised more than $19 million since 2000. Benefiting charities around the world, Sabre employees raise donations from employee giving, fundraising events and Sabre's matching donations. Give Together gives employees the opportunity to raise funds and donate to a charity or cause they care about. 

During Give Time Together, approximately 51 percent of Sabre's 10,000 global employees participated in one or more volunteer events to benefit the communities in which they work and live. The 5,300 Sabre employees who served their communities last year was an increase compared to the 3,500 who participated in 2012.

Employees participated in more than 450 different events in 31 countries. The number of hours reported also leapt from 23,736 in 2012 to more than 36,000 so far this year - a 50 percent increase. The numbers are impressive, but the stories of what Sabre employees accomplished reflect the true impact. Here are just a few highlights from the 2013 campaign:

Montevideo: In addition to raising over $6,500 to support the fight against human trafficking.  More than 600 employees volunteered at the Roosevelt School for children with physical disabilities. The not-for-profit school educates and rehabilitates children ages 2 to 16. The team built a new greenhouse and desks to accommodate their special needs and also hosted fun activities for the kids.

Tokyo: In a combined effort with Infini Travel Information, employees cleaned and organized the interior and exterior of a Donald McDonald House—the Japanese name for the Ronald McDonald House—where children with intractable diseases stay with their families while seeking treatment.

Bangalore: Employees volunteered in classrooms, fixed the computer lab, prepared meals and spent time with children attending the Sri Rakum School for the Blind. The school serves more than 500 visually impaired children and their families living below the poverty line.  

Southlake: More than 800 employees worked in seven shifts to support Feed the Hunger's food relief program by packing more than 204,000 meals for children in Haiti. And, more than 600 employees spent a total 2,750 hours – to build a Habitat for Humanity home for the Tuffa -Simertu family, and to improve a number of other homes. In addition to volunteering, local employees raised over $107,000 for 10 local partner charities during Give Together.

Krakow: Employees from our Development Center partnered with a local nonprofit called Nobody's Children Foundation. They received training and ran workshops for children on how to be safe on the Internet. During Give Together, employees raised $20,000 for Nobody's Children Foundation and 11 other local charities.

Washington, D.C.: Home-based employees volunteered with Food & Friends, a community organization caring for men, women, and children living with HIV/AIDS, cancer and other life-challenging illnesses. The team helped prepare and deliver specialized meals and groceries.

A brief look at Sabre's Corporate Responsibility programs:

Give Together: During the company's annual week of fundraising, Sabre employees made several donations and the company matched, totaling $19 million since 2000 and creating partnerships with local charities.

Give Time Together:  Sabre's 2013 Give Time Together Global Employee Volunteer Week included an innovative approach to drive greater employee involvement for the program. Drawing inspiration from the QlikView applications that Sabre creates for its customers, the Sabre CR team developed an app that enabled executives to access the following:

• Real-time employee sign-up data
• Percentage of employees in differing organizations who signed up for Sabre's Give Time Together events
• A competitive rank that shows how each organization was performing against others in the company

These insights allowed Sabre executives to fundamentally change the effectiveness of the program by reaching a record-high 51% employee participation rate. As a result, the team helped build houses, packed meals to feed 850 hungry children for the next year, renovated schools and much more.

Passport to Freedom
Sabre celebrated the one year anniversary of launching its initiative to end human trafficking. 

• 30% of Sabre global employees completed the company's human trafficking awareness training
• In connection with Sabre's efforts, three women were rescued in Chile, Uruguay and Dallas
• In 2014 Sabre will roll out its Passport to Freedom Cabinet, which serves as a leadership opportunity for employees interested in volunteering their time and talents to help fight human trafficking

Environmental Sustainability

• Through recycling, composting and conservation efforts, Sabre offices around the world reduced their energy, water and waste footprint
• Sabre has grown the Eco-certified Hotels Program by more than 8,800 hotels in 2013 (an increase of 85%)
• Sabre's implementation of Drive Electric Orlando, an innovative initiative to provide travelers with electric vehicles, in hopes that they may consider buying one

Disaster Relief

• Sabre employees helped raise $19,723 to assist 11 nonprofit organizations in supporting victims of Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines
• Sabre employees and the company donated almost $6,000 to assist the America Red Cross to provide food, supplies, and health services to victims in North Texas and Oklahoma who were devastated when the 16 tornadoes hit the region

About Sabre
Sabre is a technology solutions provider to the global travel and tourism industry. It offers a broad range of technology solutions including, data-driven business intelligence, mobile, distribution and Software-as-a-Service solutions which are used by travel suppliers (airlines, hotels, car rental outlets, railways, cruise lines and tour operators) and travel buyers (travel agencies, travel management companies and corporate travel departments) to plan, market, sell, serve and operate their business.

In 2013, Sabre's technology processed over $100 billion of estimated travel spending and more than 1.1 trillion system messages. Headquartered in Southlake, Texas, USA, Sabre employs approximately 10,000 people in approximately 60 countries around the world. We serve our customers through cutting-edge technology developed in six facilities located across four continents. Sabre is privately owned by TPG and Silver Lake Partners.

The company operates four brands/businesses: Sabre Airline Solutions, Sabre Hospitality Solutions, Sabre Travel Network and Travelocity.

Media Contact:
Nancy St. Pierre
[email protected]
+1 682 605 3864

SOURCE Sabre