SpringHill Suites' Save Art! Campaign Bolsters Education In Under-resourced Schools

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Showcasing the brand's ongoing passion for the arts, SpringHill Suites by Marriott today launched Save Art!, an initiative to provide under-resourced schools with much needed classroom art supplies.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20131002/PH90923LOGO)

Research has shown that art education has a tremendous impact on the developmental growth and academic success of children. The introduction of the arts in early education teaches valuable life-skills such as creative problem-solving, decision-making and articulating a vision, and helps to build self-esteem and self-confidence. In spite of this, many schools are facing severe budget cuts that minimize or eliminate their art programs.

In partnership with Fresh Artists, a non-profit organization that brings quality art supplies and innovative art programs to teachers in need, SpringHill Suites will provide art materials to local schools in communities across North America. During October, National Arts & Humanities Month, hotel guests and community members will be invited to make a donation in exchange for beautifying a colorful palette displayed in the lobby, thereby creating art themselves. Donations will be used for kits in school and will be delivered just in time for the winter holidays.

"Children are truly inspirational.  I am proud to launch this program as it enhances SpringHill Suites' commitment to help support youth creativity by encouraging and supporting art education," said Callette Nielsen, vice president and global brand manager for SpringHill Suites. "Fresh Artists is an ideal partner for us as we share the same passion and values of serving our communities through artistic development."   

Save Art! is a part SpringHill Suites' ongoing dedication to the promotion of local art and artisans. The brand's award winning ArtNight program transforms its more than 300 hotel lobbies into galleries by providing local artists, students, and schools throughout the year, opportunities to showcase their artwork for the community in a public setting. Additional programs such as SpringHill Suites' Art on the Road: 10 Cities, 10 Explorations Facebook campaign included a journey across America to discover the country's hidden artistic gems through the lens of a photography blogger.

"Fresh Artists is thrilled to partner with SpringHill Suites. We applaud their bold action to address dwindling art budgets. We aim to freshen up art room shelves in three hundred communities and unleash the creative potential of thousands of children across the country," said Barbara Chandler Allen, Founder and President, Fresh Artists

"Supporting the next generation of artists through Save Art! is yet another way we're building a legacy of appreciating art and design," said Nielsen. "And we couldn't be more excited to see the impact we'll make."

For more information on the Save Art! program and SpringHill Suites, visit www.springhillsuites.com.

About SpringHill Suites
SpringHill Suites is ideal for business and leisure travelers who look for style and inspiration in their stay. Featuring suites larger than traditional hotel rooms, SpringHill Suites makes it easy for guests to spread out and fully enjoy their space. Launched in November 1998, the brand currently has more than 300 locations in the United States and Canada. SpringHill Suites participates in Marriott Rewards, the guest reward program that allows members to earn points or airline miles for each dollar spent during their stay at over 3,600 Marriott-affiliated hotels worldwide. For more information, visit www.springhillsuites.com.

About Fresh Artists
Founded in 2008, Fresh Artists is an award-winning 501(c)3 Philadelphia-based nonprofit that empowers young lives through art by engaging children as full partners in philanthropy, by widely exhibiting children's artwork in highly visible places, and by providing art supplies and innovative art programs to severely under-resourced public schools. Fresh Artists invites K-12 artists to donate high-resolution images of selected artwork, and then provides corporate or individual donors with gifts of high-quality reproductions of that art in exchange for financial contributions. In just five years, the talent and generosity of more than 900 young artist-philanthropists has delivered the value of more than $250,000 in art supplies to public schools. Fresh Artists' Print Studio and Teen Internship program provides large-format printing for under-resourced nonprofits while giving disadvantaged teens marketable job skills and introductions to potential careers in the creative economy.  Reproductions of children's artwork have been installed in 200 corporate facilities throughout the country from Washington, DC, to Oregon including SAP, Tasty Baking, Comcast Corporation, Independence Blue Cross, Harvard School of Education, GOOD 360, Shire Pharmaceutical, World Cafe Live, Yale University Children's Hospital, Drexel University and filled more than 25 child abuse clinics, homeless and emergency shelters with healing, hopeful children's art. For more information, visit www.freshartists.org.

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SOURCE SpringHill Suites