My family has always had a special place in our hearts for Give Kids The World, which Dad and Mom believed in so strongly.
(PRWEB) August 19, 2013
The children of Holiday Inn founder, Kemmons Wilson, along with their company, Orlando-based Orange Lake Resorts, have pledged $500,000 to Give Kids The World’s five-year, $120 million Capital Expansion and Improvement Campaign. Their gift will go toward the construction of a new Town Hall, which will expand Give Kids The World’s (GKTW) hospitality services. The nonprofit resort in Kissimmee provides children with life-threatening illnesses and their families once-in-a-lifetime dream vacations.
The Wilson Family has been long associated with GKTW’s founder, Henri Landwirth, since the 1960s when Kemmons first met Henri, who was the General Manager of the Holiday Inn in Cape Canaveral (Kennedy Space Center). Their friendship continued; and later, with encouragement from Kemmons, Henri became a Holiday Inn® franchise owner by opening the Holiday Inn Main Gate East on Hwy 192 in the early 1970s soon after Disney World Resort® opened. Widely known as a pioneer in the hospitality industry, Kemmons Wilson revolutionized how American families traveled when he founded Holiday Inn in 1952. And later, when Henri formed Give Kids The World, Kemmons and Holiday Inn hotels were among the first to provide financial support to help build the Village.
“My family has always had a special place in our hearts for Give Kids The World, which Dad and Mom believed in so strongly,” said Spence Wilson. “It brought them great joy to see families who worked so hard to provide a strong, loving environment for their children as they struggled to overcome illness, gather together in a fun world of their own to renew and strengthen their bonds. In our eyes, these families are heroes and need and deserve the experience this wonderful organization provides. We are excited about the future of GKTW as we and our company make this pledge and continue the support initiated by our parents long ago.”
“The Kemmons Wilson family indeed has been a loyal supporter of our mission since we welcomed our very first family at the Holiday Inn Main Gate East more than two decades ago, even before our Give Kids The World Village was created in 1987,” said Pamela Landwirth, president, GKTW. “Since then, GKTW has been able to restore joy and provide hope to more than 122,000 children from around the world. On behalf of all the families who will be able to experience a week of magical memories, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to the Wilson family and Orange Lake Resorts for bringing us one step closer to making our Town Hall possible.”
For more information on GKTW’s Village Campaign, please visit: http://www.givekidstheworld.org/campaign. To learn more about Orange Lake Resorts, home to Holiday Inn Club Vacations, visit http://orangelake.com/.
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About Give Kids The World
Recognized as the highest rated charity in America by personal finance site MainStreet, and also reported by MSN Money, Give Kids The World Village (GKTW) is a 70-acre, non-profit resort in Central Florida that creates magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. GKTW provides accommodations at its whimsical resort, donated attractions tickets, meals and more for a weeklong, cost-free fantasy vacation. With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 122,000 families from all 50 states and over 74 countries. For more information about GKTW and its mission, visit givekidstheworld.org.
Give Kids The World Media
Betsy Culpepper
BetsyC(at)gktw(dot)org
407-396-1114 ext. 4521
About Orange Lake Resorts and the Holiday Inn Club Vacations® Brand
The Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand was created in 2008 as a strategic alliance between IHG® (InterContinental Hotels Group) and Orange Lake Resorts, a leader within the timeshare industry with more than 30 years of proven success. The Holiday Inn Club Vacations flagship property in Orlando, Fla., located next to Walt Disney World® Resort, was established in 1982 by Holiday Inn® brand founder Kemmons Wilson. A 1,450-acre golf, water park and sports resort, Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Orange Lake Resort includes 2,478 villas with the ability to expand to 4,500 villas. Other resort locations include Lake Geneva, Wis., Panama City Beach and Marco Island, Fla., Brownsville, Vt., Myrtle Beach, S.C., Gatlinburg, Tenn. Galveston, Texas and Las Vegas, Nev. Holiday Inn Club members, owners of timeshare intervals at Holiday Inn Club Vacations resorts, enjoy access to these ten resort locations, plus IHG’s network of more than 4,600 hotels worldwide. The Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand continues to look for opportunities to expand its Member Resorts to top North American destination locations.
For more information on the Holiday Inn Club Vacations brand or to book reservations, visit http://www.hiclubvacations.com. Find us on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/hiclubvacations or Twitter http://www.twitter.com/hiclubvacations.
