More than 1,400 students and 146 teachers arrived on a Monday morning to a transformed campus following PortMiami-based Royal Caribbean’s annual GIVE Day, which took place on Saturday, Apr. 27, at two Hialeah schools.
John G. DuPuis Elementary and Palm Springs Middle received the royal treatment courtesy of a little elbow grease and a whole lot of heart from the company’s 2,000-plus employee volunteers.
Part of a multi-year commitment to Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the project not only beautified the schools with fresh paint and native landscape but provided environmentally friendly solutions to erosion, drainage and corrected hurricane damages to the existing tree canopy.
The $1.5 million initiative marries the company’s passion for education with its sustainability commitments. Volunteers installed an outdoor living lab, including a butterfly and sensory garden that will serve the schools’ special needs and visually impaired students by incorporating nature into the classroom.
Working together with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, volunteers also participated in the Million Orchid Project and installed over 2,000 young native Florida orchids to trees across both campuses.
Royal Caribbean also announced an expanded partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools with a $500,000 commitment towards the 2019 Summer Youth Internship Program. The program, which provides a foundation for over 200 students to acquire skills on academic achievement and career readiness before being placed into a five-week internship, has a 98 percent success rate.
GIVE, which stands for “Get Involved Volunteer Everywhere,” is a community service event that brings together Royal Caribbean employees, their families, friends, vendors and business partners to assist non-profit organizations and improve the quality of life in their local communities.
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. (NYSE: RCL) is a global cruise vacation company that controls and operates four global brands: Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Azamara Club Cruises and Silversea Cruises. It also is a 50 percent joint venture owner of the German brand TUI Cruises and a 49 percent shareholder in the Spanish brand Pullmantur Cruceros.
Together these brands operate a combined total of 60 ships with an additional 16 on order as of Dec. 31, 2018. They operate diverse itineraries around the world that call on all seven continents. Additional information can be found on www.rclcorporate.com.
