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It Starts with the Funnel: Meal Packaging and the Opportunity For Engagement

By Rob Scypinski, Senior Vice President, Industry Relations & Events, Hilton

Hilton Senior Vice President, Industry Relations & Events Rob Scypinski reflects on the power of Hilton’s partnership with Rise Against Hunger.

I’ve always been committed to creating experiences for our customers that carry Hilton’s commitment to hospitality to new heights, and when I came across Rise Against Hunger, I remember thinking that we would make great partners. Our goal to bring the light of hospitality to the world is realized through meal packaging events with Rise Against Hunger.

Our events team discovered Rise Against Hunger as an activity for our national sales meeting several years ago. We started to put two and two together when we were looking for a different way to engage our business travel customers staying in-house. What these events do is twofold: volunteers feel empowered by helping to feed people in need around the world, and they also engage in powerful conversations–from how to improve the state of the world to how to connect with each other. The funnel becomes a symbol as the center for the opportunity of engagement, harkening back to the basic root of humanity: coming together over a shared meal; a shared experience.

Through Hilton’s Travel with Purpose partnership with Rise Against Hunger, we have become a provider for this valuable experience while changing the dynamic of how we view our customers, which is so often overlooked in today’s busy society. By offering the opportunity for strangers to connect, for coworkers to bond, or for sales teams to connect to buyers, we’re a part of this culture now.

I believe I was recognized as a 2016 Changemaker by MeetingsNet because I took a walk in our customers’ shoes and pursued my passion to help them help others. Working with Rise Against Hunger is the most impactful reason this distinguishing award was given to me and Hilton. We thought differently about using a great organization in partnership way to help bring our customers together.

I often think about impact and what it means to effect change within my role in the hospitality sector. When we partnered with Rise Against Hunger to bring several meal packaging events to our hotels around the country this year, we did so with the intent of having our guests realize our commitment to corporate social responsibility, but it has become so much more than that. Our guests are having fun, they’re opening up. We’re also seeing how the simple act of packaging meals can change the world and our guests see the impact. They’re bringing this event back home with them and we’re able to reach that many more individuals. This is a global movement and we’re so thrilled to be a part of it, to be part of a goal that is so attainable. Together, we really can end world hunger–and it starts with that funnel.

To learn more about our Rise Against Hunger impact trips or to discuss a new partnership, please contact Karen Sanders Noe at knoe@riseagainsthunger.org.