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Sodexho Service Vouchers and Cards and Restos du Coeur launch Second Voucher Donation Drive
12/7/2006
The launch of a scheme, in France, to encourage the donation of restaurant vouchers to provide meals for the needy.
7 December 2006 - Sodexho Service Vouchers and Cards and Restos du Coeur, a meals-for-the-needy association, today launched the Chèque du Coeur voucher donation drive, which is scheduled to run through March 30, 2007. The initiative encourages holders of Sodexho restaurant vouchers to contribute them to the drive. Each voucher donated enables Restos du Coeur to deliver eight meals.
Last year, the operation was a major success, with the equivalent of over 825,000 meals donated to the association. The initiative is part of a broader partnership created in 2005 by Sodexho France and Restos du Coeur to combat malnutrition and help the disadvantaged find jobs.
The partnership has led to a large number of front-line initiatives, involving not only food aid but also skills sharing. Sodexho organizes training programs in food hygiene and balanced nutrition, provides access to its supplier network and helps the disadvantaged find jobs, with 35 people hired to date. Sodexho is committed to playing an active role as a good corporate citizen, in line with its corporate values, and to involving its employees, who are highly motivated and proud to support the Restos du Coeur cause.
A strong commitment to corporate citizenship
For ten years, Sodexho has supported the fight against hunger and malnutrition through its STOPHunger program. Launched in the United States and currently deployed in 21 countries, STOP Hunger covers an array of corporate philanthropy initiatives that every day improve the quality of life for the disadvantaged. These include food drives, financial donations, volunteer service activities and skills sharing programs. Acting as a responsible corporate citizen is a strategic priority for Sodexho and extending the STOP Hunger program to the major countries in which it operates is one of the commitments made in the Company's Sustainable Development Report.
The Chèque du Coeur voucher donation program: it's easy to participate
Employees who use Sodexho restaurant vouchers are encouraged to donate one or more of them to the Chèque du Coeur drive. The vouchers are then passed on to Restos du Coeur, thereby enabling the association to distribute meals to the disadvantaged through its 2,000 centers in France. To take part in the drive, users simply cross out the amount printed on the voucher and write the name “Chèque du Coeur” on it, then return the voucher using a special postage-paid envelope.
Positive results
Leveraging the dedication of the Sodexho and Restos du Coeur teams and the synergies they have created, the partnership has produced very positive results. The figures speak for themselves, effectively expressing the initiative's success :
- 1,230,500 meals have been distributed by Restos du Coeur, thanks to the efforts of Sodexho's teams, clients and consumers in France. Of the total, 825,000 were donated through the Chèque du Coeur program.
- More than 1,150 volunteers have received training from Sodexho in food safety and balanced nutrition.
- 35 Restos du Coeur beneficiaries have been hired to work on Sodexho sites.
Download the press release in PDF
About Sodexho Service Vouchers and Cards
A Sodexho Alliance subsidiary, Service Vouchers and Cards provides public and private sector clients with a full range of innovative services designed to motivate and retain employees and to optimize management of compensation policies. For local and national authorities, Sodexho also designs and manages tailored solutions for the deployment of social assistance programs. With more than 100 million vouchers issued in France each year, Sodexho Service Vouchers and Cards is a market leader in the provision of payment media for a broad range of services and products, including meals, training programs, gifts and leisure activities as well as childcare and other human services.
