Hyatt Announces More Than USD$346,000 in 2011 Community Grants to 24 Non-Profit Organizations

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--In the spirit of giving this holiday season, Hyatt announced today that 26 Hyatt hotels and the corporate office have awarded more than USD$346,000 to local non-profit organizations through the Hyatt Community Grants program. The philanthropic program empowers Hyatt associates to guide charitable giving and encourages hotels around the world to identify and nominate local nonprofits for funding consideration through the Hyatt Hotels Foundation. The program builds on the company’s belief that no one better understands a community’s most pressing issues – and their solutions – that those individuals who live and work there.

“It is a top priority for us to be active participants in the communities where our associates live and work, and Hyatt Community Grants gives us the great opportunity to give back to the local organizations that do so much for our cities.”

All participating nonprofits must have a significant local presence and must support one of Hyatt Thrive’s four philanthropic pillars – Environmental Sustainability, Education & Personal Advancement, Economic Development & Investment, or Health & Wellness.

This year, by supporting 24 local organizations working to impact their communities, Hyatt Community Grants will help to:

Support job training and placement program for homeless and unemployed in the UK
Fund a study to identify ways to improve existing services to impoverished patients suffering from craniofacial abnormalities in Indonesia
Install a photovoltaic system to power offices and program space of an environmental focused community center in Hawaii
Support facility improvements and education and health programming in orphanages in Korea, Greece, and Russia
Provide job placement and training services for disadvantaged youth in Massachusetts, and mentally and physically disabled adults in Florida and Texas
Fund a volunteer expedition to support disaster recovery efforts in northern Japan
Support improvements for three schools in impoverished, rural areas of Morocco
Support therapeutic programs for children with chronic illnesses in Chicago
Support an education and job placement program for low-income, single parent mothers in Colorado
Fund 30 ophthalmological surgeries for impoverished patients suffering from cataracts and blindness in China
Purchase special equipment to enable a clinic to diagnose and treat patients with endocrinological diseases in Ukraine
Support development of sustainable waste program in East Kolkata Wetlands in India
Support a teen center focused on teamwork and leadership for at-risk youth in California
Support a hospital’s expansion to accommodate 250 additional beds, which will also create 2,000 additional health care professional jobs in Egypt

“We are honored to support the valuable contributions of this year’s Hyatt Community Grants recipients,” said Brigitta Witt, vice president of corporate responsibility for Hyatt. “It is a top priority for us to be active participants in the communities where our associates live and work, and Hyatt Community Grants gives us the great opportunity to give back to the local organizations that do so much for our cities.”

Funding for the Hyatt Community Grants program is provided by the Hyatt Hotels Foundation, a donor advised fund created in conjunction with the National Philanthropic Trust. Since the program’s inception in 2008, Hyatt hotels have awarded over USD$1,054,000 to nonprofit organizations in 84 communities and 30 countries around the world.

Hyatt Community Grants is a key component of Hyatt Thrive, the company’s global corporate responsibility program. Hyatt Thrive is designed to help make the communities in which Hyatt operates places that associates are proud to work, guests want to visit, neighbors want to live and hotel owners want to invest. Hyatt Thrive harnesses the power of more than 85,000 Hyatt associates at over 450 properties around the world, to focus on positive local efforts that create a significant global impact. For more information about Hyatt Thrive, please visit www.HyattThrive.com.

For more information about Hyatt Community Grants, please visit www.HyattThrive.com/philanthropy.

About Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Hyatt Hotels Corporation, headquartered in Chicago, is a leading global hospitality company with a proud heritage of making guests feel more than welcome. Thousands of members of the Hyatt family strive to make a difference in the lives of the guests they encounter every day by providing authentic hospitality. The Company’s subsidiaries manage, franchise, own and develop hotels and resorts under the Hyatt®, Park Hyatt®, Andaz®, Grand Hyatt®, Hyatt Regency®, Hyatt Place® and Hyatt Summerfield Suites® brand names and have locations on six continents. Hyatt Summerfield Suites is being rebranded as Hyatt House^TM. Hyatt Residential Group, Inc., a Hyatt Hotels Corporation subsidiary, develops, operates, markets or licenses Hyatt Residences^TMand Hyatt Vacation Club®, which is changing its name to Hyatt Residence Club^TM. As of September 30, 2011, the Company’s worldwide portfolio consisted of 478 properties in 45 countries. For more information, please visit www.hyatt.com.