Each week of the three years that Steven Ricciardi was sales manager at the Providence Marriott, he would spend a lunch hour at Providence’s Camden Avenue School, an elementary school about a mile from the hotel.
“It was great. On a Thursday, I would go from noon to 1 p.m. and hang out with a student, create a relationship, do math or science, play ball,” he said. “Oftentimes, I’d be quarterbacking at recess.”
That was more than a decade ago now and it was, Ricciardi said, before it was the norm for members of the hospitality industry in Rhode Island to reach out to their community. He said it was the idea of Arthur Robbins, who developed and opened the Providence Marriott in 1975 and now serves as general partner.
Now, as director of sales & marketing at the Courtyard by Marriott, Ricciardi remembers what it was like to work for Arthur Robbins at the Providence Marriott.
“I did it for three years and it really got me involved in volunteering,” he said. “So it really had an impact on my life – I still volunteer. It was something that no other hotel was doing. Others would say, ‘Volunteer during lunch, forget it. Volunteer on your own time.’”
But since the 1980s, as the hospitality industry has grown in Rhode Island, getting employees to volunteer has become the standard, he added. “So you hear about these philanthropic businessmen in the world,” Ricciardi said, “and we think about Arthur Robbins and Providence.”
In a recent speech, Providence Mayor David N. Cicilline said that the industry’s relationship to the community can be measured in the amount of cultural events being held around the city. And the hospitality industry is “building on the success that we’ve seen over the last few years.
“They’ve had a hugely important impact on the city,” he said. “Not just on the civic life of the city, but on the artistic and cultural vibrancy of the city.”
Late last month, the Providence Warwick Conventions & Visitors Bureau inducted Robbins into its hall of fame, but it also honored others who have invested significantly in their communities. One of those companies is Pinelli Marra Restaurant Group and Fine Caterers, the East Greenwich-based owner of The Post Office Café, The Grille on Main and other restaurants.
About 13 years ago, that company chose it’s first charity to give to, co-owner Bill Pinelli said.
“And since that time, we’ve added between five and 10 new charities each year,” he said.
In 2007, the company gave more than $500,000 back to the community, including to the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, local animal rescue leagues and various health organizations.
“It really gives you the drive to give more goods and services,” he said. “It’s good to help – even an organization like [Roger Williams Park] Zoo. Whoever comes to us.”
This month, the company is trying to raise a “record” amount for the food bank, he added.
Courtyard by Marriott’s Assistant General Manager Celeste Craven said that teaching younger employees to go out into the community is a way to ensure that future leaders in Rhode Island’s hospitality industry are just as involved in the community as are today’s leaders.
PWCVB President Martha Sheridan said that someday those younger employees will be leading the industry and be in positions to help others. Such organized volunteering, she said, highlights the stability of the industry and opportunity it affords workers.
“Oftentimes … we are dismissed as an industry of low-paying jobs with no future,” she said. “And that’s just not the case.”
When he was visiting Providence a few weeks ago, Cruise Line International Association President and CEO Terry L. Dale said Robbins’ influence in Rhode Island extends beyond the classroom. It can now be seen throughout the community.
“This city and this state continue to make steady progress,” he said. “Why? Because you have leaders who are committed and are passionate about the place that you call home.” •
