PG:  This is a disease that touches everyone.  I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had blood cancer affect their family.

TK: Exactly! Talking to our employees, we’re finding this disease has touched so many people. Blood cancers are one of the most curable cancers and we’re trying to improve the lives of these people and a million dollars will go a tremendous way.  We’ve created a website where you can donate directly.

We need to remember that sometimes we just need to step back from the high paced workplace we’re in and say how can we help others who are less fortunate than us.

PG:  You also have an online auction opportunity that goes till the 27th of this month.

TK: That’s right we have an online auction where you’ll see all the wonderful auction opportunities and you can stay in SF for a year just by bouncing around the wonderful hotels and tourist opportunities. If you do the math with 80+ hotels and giving an average of 3-5 nights it doesn’t take long to add up to a year and most of the hotels have participated in this cause.

PG: If I check into your hotel, how do I know about the mission?  Are there signs?

TK:  When you walk in you will see signs and we have two-fold flyers: one to educate and one to donate.  The front desk agents and employees are all wearing pins promoting the mission.   We’re all behind the cause and it’s an awareness campaign and you won’t miss it.  There are flyers everywhere and it’s at the forefront of the campaign for this month.

PG:  I salute you for doing this Tom and I’m glad to see the entire hotel industry getting behind this in an ecumenical way.

For more information on this cause and other voluntourism opportunities, check out:

• Our weekly Voluntourism Spotlight and the Volunteer Travel Archives
• July’s Hotel News You Can Use column
• The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society in our Athletic Voluntourism article

By Peter Greenberg for PeterGreenberg.com