Four major hurricanes converge on Florida, one after the other, in a span of only six weeks. People are left without electricity, water, food — some are even homeless. It may sound like something out of a made-for-TV disaster movie, but for those who lived through it, the recent memories of Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Jeanne and Ivan remain all too vivid.

But the combined fury of these devastating storms couldn’t hold a candle to the energy level of Darden employees coming to the aid of fellow team members, restaurants and, most of all, affected communities. From boarding up windows in preparation for the storms, to handing out assistance checks to employees in need through the Darden Dimes program, to delivering food and ice to rescue and utility workers, our employees demonstrated the Darden core value of “being of service” time and again. Despite having their own homes and personal lives to worry about, they saw beyond themselves and reached out to others.

The company reached out to help too. On October 14, 2004, all Darden restaurants throughout Florida participated in “Dine Out for Disaster Relief,” donating 100 percent of their profits that day to the Florida Hurricane Relief Fund. In all, Darden donated $2.5 million to the fund, including a $1 million grant from the Darden Restaurants Foundation. In addition, Darden CEO Clarence Otis and Board member Connie Mack lll co-chaired a statewide effort that raised more than $30 million for the communities hardest hit by the four storms.

“We’ve all suffered from these hurricanes,” said Clarence in presenting Darden’s donation to the state. “What a privilege it is to help rebuild the communities that have supported our restaurants for more than 30 years.”

Waste Not,Want Not

Another example of Darden volunteerism and community involvement is the Harvest Food Donation program, which provides a systematic way for Darden’s restaurants to donate food they can’t use anymore to food banks and other charitable organizations. These are items like mistakenly cooked meals and abandoned take-out orders that can’t be served but are still delicious, nutritious and very appreciated by the organizations that receive them.

“Many of these foods would be unavailable to the Soup Kettle Program without your gift,” says Marlene Daubert of Zion Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, one of the receiving organizations. “Your gift has meant not only the benefits of nutrition but also a real sense of quality.”

Since the program was first piloted in 2003, more than one million pounds of food have been donated to 465 charities around the country … and we’re just getting started! “Imagine,” says Goretti Cheng of Darden’s Corporate Tax department, who, along with Olive Garden Total Quality Manager Kris Zetterlund helped implement the Harvest donation program, “if one pound of food serves one meal for one person, we’ve already touched about a million lives.”

All of Darden’s philanthropic initiatives stem from the company’s core values of showing “respect and caring” and “being of service,” which fuel a genuine interest in the well being of others and enriching the quality of life in the communities where we do business. For Darden volunteers, offering their time and talents to the community is not a one-way street. Most will tell you their involvement enriches their lives in return, and it’s a feeling like no other. As anthropologist Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”