News

InterContinental Hotels Group Presents Bottomless Closet with $35,000 Grant

June 11, 2019

In a check presentation at The InterContinental New York Barclay on Thursday, InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) presented Bottomless Closet with a $35,000 grant to fund our development of programmatic activity to prepare disadvantaged New York City women to build a career in the hospitality industry.

IHG presenting the staff of Bottomless Closet with a check for $35,000.

Elie Maalouf, IHG Chief Executive Officer of the Americas, (center) presents Bottomless Closet Melissa Norden with a $35,000 grant at a check presentation last week.

As part of our ongoing partnership with the InterContinental New York Barclay and IHG, this grant will provide our clients interested in this career path with hospitality skills training, showcasing career pathways in the hospitality industry and acting as a connection point between the hospitality industry and disadvantaged women.

The grant will fund four specific initiatives, including: Hospitality Training Days, an Interview Guide for the Hospitality Industry, Career Days, and Professional Development workshops.

This grant initiative is the latest addition to what has been a strong and valuable partnership between Bottomless Closet and IHG. In 2016, IHG (via the IHG UK Trust) provided us with a $17,000 grant to pursue our mission. That same year, the InterContinental New York Barclay generously hosted our annual Client Graduation ceremony as well as the first Career Day to educate clients about working in the hospitality industry.

Since then, we have continued to build our relationship with the InterContinental New York Barclay, who again hosted our Client Graduation ceremonies in 2017 and 2018, a Women’s History Month film screening fundraiser in 2017, and several Career Days and Panel Discussions, the most recent of which was held in July 2018. The InterContinental New York Barclay also named us ‘Charity of the Month’ for March to correspond to Women’s History Month, and staff at all levels have run clothing drives, produced this video to highlight our work, and have even held a bake sale with all proceeds benefiting Bottomless Closet!

We are eager to continue to build this important relationship and enhance our role as a connection point between disadvantaged New York City women and the hospitality industry!