By Daily Press staff
The Fairmont Miramar Hotel in downtown Santa Monica has dedicated its efforts this month toward helping children with life-threatening medical conditions.
Under a program called “Make-A-Wish Tea Party for Wish Kids,” Santa Monica’s oldest hotel donates $3 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Greater Los Angeles from each afternoon tea menu served during the month of December. So far the program has raised $300, according to Fairmont spokeswoman Tammy Lyn Phillips.
The tea party is a local program, exclusive to the Miramar Hotel, intended to raise awareness about the larger Fairmont chain’s new relationship with the Make- A-Wish Foundation, Phillips said.
Under an international program called “Fairmont Rooms from the Heart,” the hotel donates $10 per online booking made during the month of December to the Make-A- Wish Foundation. In addition to the holiday fundraising, Fairmont will contribute an annual donation of $75,000 to the foundation — granting approximately 200 wishes each year and supporting a network of colleagues volunteering for the foundation.
The Make-A-Wish Foundation is the world’s largest wish-granting charity, with 76 chapters in the United States and its territories and 27 international affiliates on five continents. With the help of donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, the foundation has granted more than 110,000 wishes to children around the world since 1980. A “wish” might include a trip to a theme park, tickets to a sporting event or a meeting with a celebrity. Since 1983, the greater Los Angeles chapter has granted more than 4,500 wishes.
“The Royal Tea,” “The Traditional Tea” and “Teddy Bear Tea” are available from $15 to $29 per person in the hotel’s Koi Pond Lobby Lounge and Garden Terrace Monday through Friday, including Christmas day, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. by reservation only. Reservations are not required on Saturday and Sunday when afternoon tea is served from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Reservations for the tea party can be made by calling (310) 319-3111, and bookings for travel can be made at www.fairmont.com/heart. The hotel is located at 101 Wilshire Blvd. E-mail newsletter in the making
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 22, 2003. Read the original PDF.