Besides putting on regular charity concerts, art exhibitions and other fundraising events, the hotel group’s various efforts support a range of causes, including the Ramathibodi Foundation’s Liver Transplant from Parent-to-Child Program, the Chulalongkorn Craniofacial Centre and Friends of the Asian Elephant Foundation (FAE). Not to mention that they help out respected international aid organisations like the Thai Red Cross and UNICEF on an ad hoc basis. Some of our CSR and charitable endeavours are outlined below.

Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH) Internship

From 12–16 November 2012 The Sukosol was pleased to open its doors and welcome 19-year-old Khun Jannakron (Outlet Manager) and 28-year-old Khun May (Kitchen Manager) from the Urban Neighbours of Hope (UNOH) organisation to its Bakery Cafe to learn about restaurant management and basic food preparations skills. The happy pair spent a productive week in our kitchen learning first-hand from our skilled staff how to take orders, serve customers and prepare delicious, fresh food like salads and sandwiches, not to mention the perfect cup of coffee!

The two young entrepreneurs now manage their own cafe, Munjai (meaning ‘confidence’), in Bangkok’s underprivileged Klong Toey slum, which is home to 160,000 disadvantaged people living in just 13 sq.km of land. Their hope is to help raise the basic living standards of the local youth population (who might otherwise get involved with drugs, crime, unemployment, etc) by providing meaningful part-time employment and training opportunities. This lofty ambition is echoed in the cafe’s slogan: growing confidence with every cup. Other UNOH initiatives include a fair-trade handicraft co-operative, kids’ art/sport program and cooking school, out of which the book “Cooking With Poo” has become phenomenally successful, with renowned international chef Jamie Oliver and Australian Prime Minister Julie Gillard being fans.

Being Green in Ratchaburi

On Saturday, 23 June 2012, over 60 staff members, ranging from management to operations, from The Sukosol, Bangkok, went to Wat Santigaram School in Ratchaburi Province west of the capital to take part in a fun and productive Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative.

The Sukosol hotel is committed to engaging in positive community engagement and environmental conservation, evidenced by its four-leaf status in the Green Leaf Foundation (GLF). Annually the hotel holds CSR and ‘going green’ trips to areas surrounding Bangkok to initiate and oversee a range of activities, such as beach clean-ups and hygiene seminars.

For this particular project the group visited the school to assistant with tree planting within the school grounds, to build a waste separation collection point (now a model project for the local community), play games and interact with the students and donate much-needed school supplies, such as stationary, sporting equipment and books.

Thailand Flood Relief

The Sukosol joined hands with the Thai Red Cross Society and UNICEF in December 2011 to provide emergency help and support for flood victims in Thailand through the donation of Baht 1.4 million in much-needed funds. The money was given to the Thai Red Cross Society’s Relief Communities Help Bureau to provide assistance to individuals and families affected by disaster, mobile hospitals to take care of physical and emotional rehabilitation needs and vocational training and community morale improvement.

Our effort to raise funds and awareness about the catastrophic flooding included the selling of a ‘Sukosol family’ collaborative CD, entitled L-O-V-E. It was available at the hotel (as well as the group’s other properties in Pattaya), with all proceeds, approximately Baht 10,000, going to the Red Cross Society’s Flood Relief Fund.

The Sukosol also took it upon it itself to provide free on-site accommodation, parking and food for its most badly affected staff. In addition, 67 employees indentified as being ‘in extreme need’ were donated Baht 4,000 towards repairing their home and Baht 70,000 was used to buy them paint, brushes, cleaning materials, etc. Staff were also eligible for a loan initiative program enabling them to borrow up to Baht 50,000 at a minimal interest rate.

Smile with Sukosol

Since her first charity concert in 1982, Kamala Sukosol, president and matriarch of the Sukosol family, has raised over 60 million baht in aid of various Thai charities. Named Forbes Asis’s “Hero of Philanthropy” in 2009, Kamala is passionately committed to giving back.

Since 2007, Kamala has supported The Princess Sirinthorn Craniofacial Center, a cause particularly close to her heart because it suffers from a lack of awareness and is in particular need of funding. The organization is dedicated to caring for children with severe craniofacial deformities, many of whom live in distant rural areas in poverty. The extent of their deformities is so severe that treatment is aimed not only to improve the children’s health, but also to allow the children to be accepted in their social environment

In 2013, Sukosol Hotels announced the launch of “Smile with Sukosol” campaign to pledge our continuing support to the Craniofacial Center and help with their invaluable work. The programme will include a monthly lunch hosted by Sukosol Hotels and guests will be able to visit the Center and are invited to donate in any way they choose, should they wish to do so. In addition to raising funds to enable the much-needed operations to take place, Sukosol Hotels will sponsor outings for children and visits for parents so that they can spend time with their children during the long recovery and rehabilitation period.

Kamala Sukosol’s Decorating with Flowers

Kamala Sukosol’s Floral Standards: Decorating with Flowers (การจัดดอกไม้สไตล์กมลา) is a labour of love, taking two years to complete and includes practical advice, anecdotes and personal observations from one of the country’s best-known businesswomen.

Filled with Kamala Sukosol’s love of all things beautiful and her flair for the creative, this book is a must for anyone with a love of entertaining looking to make their next dinner party, celebration or social gathering a memorable occasion, as well as the perfect inspiration for some casual re-decorating to surprise a loved one.

Kamala Sukosol’s Floral Standards: Decorating with Flowers (การจัดดอกไม้สไตล์กมลา) is priced at 1,490 baht and is available at Asia Books stores as well as The Sukosol and The Siam in Bangkok and Siam Bayshore, The Bayview and Wave Hotel in Pattaya.

All proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit the Parent-to-Child Liver Transplant campaign of the Ramathibodi Foundation.