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DARDEN RESTAURANTS
At Darden Restaurants, we are absolutely committed to taking a direct and active role in improving the quality of life wherever we do business. It’s a hallmark of our heritage and culture and an indispensable part of achieving our mission to be the best casual dining company, now and for generations.
That’s why we include this “Corporate Responsibility” report in the financial section of our Annual Report. We believe active community involvement is a business imperative. Being the best in the business includes being an outstanding corporate citizen and community leader.
Our philanthropic program is an extension of our employees’ “hands-on” volunteerism, which is supported by the Darden Restaurants Foundation and the Darden Environmental Trust.
Working in partnership with community organizations throughout the country, we focus on four key areas of social need: 1) education, 2) social services and nutrition, 3) arts and culture and 4) preservation of natural resources. We support projects that promote diversity, respect, fairness and inclusiveness - we believe solving civic problems requires diverse viewpoints and the commitment and participation of everyone in the community.
Bill Darden, our late founder, believed that giving back to the community, as well as taking care of employees and guests, should be part of everything we do. That sense of corporate responsibility is stronger than ever at Darden Restaurants, and we want to share with you some key projects with which we’re involved:
Investing in Community
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| On the set of the hit CBS series “Everybody Loves Raymond,” cast members Doris Roberts, Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Brad Garrett and Peter Boyle kick off Olive Garden’sPasta for Pennies campaign, benefiting the Leukemia Society of America. |
PASTA
FOR PENNIES
Olive Garden’s annual Pasta for Pennies program encourages school
children all over the country to collect pennies for the Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society of America. Classes that raise the most money receive a catered lunch
from a neighborhood Olive Garden restaurant. Last year nearly 1,000,000
students in 1,600 schools helped raise more than $3,000,000 to help leukemia
patients and their families.
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| Olive Gardenpresents a 24-foot refrigerated truck to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Metrolina in Charlotte, NC, and children from the Walls Memorial Child Development Center. |
DRIVE AGAINST HUNGER
Through this innovative program, Olive Garden supports food banks around
the United States. It’s part of Olive Garden’s sponsorship of Italy’s
Team Rafanelli, which competes in the American Le Mans Series motorsports racing
championship. In cities where races are held, Olive Garden donates a
refrigerated truck (for collecting and distributing fresh foods) and hundreds
of pounds of food to a local food bank.
YMCA
Through community
Family Centers and program sites, the “Y” annually serves hundreds of thousands
of men, women and children of all ages, abilities, races, income brackets and
religions. The Darden Restaurants Foundation has concentrated its current support
on the Pine Hills facility in the heart of a low-income Orlando-area neighborhood
that desperately needs facilities and opportunities for children and adults.
Our support has enabled the Pine Hills “Y” to expand and provide more comprehensive
programs and tutoring that will help with the neighborhood’s educational, physical
and social needs.
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