MANCHESTER, N.H. – At last week’s Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce August Spotlight event, the Hilton Garden Inn Manchester presented a $3,000 check to the New Hampshire Food Bank in honor of former hotel breakfast chef Kearn Turner.
After more than seven years at the hotel, Turner partially retired in 2015 and passed away in May after battling ALS.
The donation specifically went to the Food Bank’s Recipe for Success program, an eight-week course enabling people to work or rejoin the food industry.
That $3,000 will fund a full stipend in the program for approximately nine participants.
“Kearn had a passion for people, cooking and giving back – which is the embodiment of the New Hampshire Food Bank Recipe for Success program,” said Maureen Shelley, Director of Employee Development for the Roedel Companies, the Hilton Garden Inn Manchester’s parent company. “We recently hired a graduate of the Recipe for Success program and have seen firsthand the incredible benefits of the program for individuals participating and the community. We’re confident Kearn is smiling over this donation made in his memory by the staff who loved and considered him family.”
Since 2016, the hotel’s staff-influenced donation program began in partnership with the chamber and since has generated $12,000 in donations to four organizations in honor of the hotel team’s personal connections.