Staff and management teams of Hampton Inn Conyers and Hampton Inn Covington have crafted dresses out of pillowcases for young girls in Africa this month.

“It was a fun project and was very rewarding.   It is so nice to be able to give back in such a meaningful way,” said Executive Housekeeper Tamika Weaver.  A total of 65 dresses were made between the two hotels.  They will be donated to Little Dresses for Africa and distributed to girls in need.

The initiative was done in conjunction with the Hampton Brand’s  “31 days of hands on Hamptonality Challenge”.  Last year Hampton Inn hotels completed 1,800 acts of community service globally and the goal for 2015 is to complete 10,000 acts of community service within the month.

Area Director of Sales James Clements said that he was excited to start the project after receiving the challenge from the brand.  “As a previous board member of Africa’s Children’s Fund, I was excited to be able to spearhead this brand initiative. I thought it would be a wonderful way to help those who are less fortunate and a great team building exercise for the staff,” said James.

Weaver said the staff enjoyed making the dresses and they are really easy to make.  “We encouraged the staff to be creative.  Some were made with ribbon, buttons, an embroidered design or a pocket. There are no insets or sleeves, and they don’t have to be fitted to a certain size. When the girls grow, they can still wear them, even as a top with shorts”, she said.

Although the project was done in conjunction with a brand initiative, Clements said they would continue to focus on the needs of girls. In addition, Royal Hotel Investments CEO, Navin Shah, donated a pair of shoes to accompany each dress.

“Little girls all over the world today are not placed in high value and there are so many ways we can help.  Even though we may never see them, it’s something we need to do,” Clements said.

For more information on why Hampton Inn chose this particular project, check out organizations such as Little Dresses for Africa (littledressesforafrica.org) or Dress a Girl Around the World (dressagirlaroundtheworld.com).