By Fallan Patterson
Staff Writer

More families with children who have life-threatening illnesses will be able to enjoy Central Florida in 2013 with the addition of four new villas at Give Kids The World Village, thanks to a partnership with a global lodging corporation.

The Kissimmee-based non-profit and Intercontinental Hotels Group, which owns Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels and resorts, and its parent company, IHG Owners Association, broke ground Tuesday on the new villas as part of an expansion of the Fairy Tale Forest section of the organization’s whimsical property.

“IHG has been a loyal supporter of our mission since we welcomed our very first family at the Holiday Inn Main Gate East more than two decades ago,” said Pamela Landwirth, GKTW president. “Since then, Give Kids The World has been able to restore joy and provide hope to more than 118,000 children from around the world.  On behalf of all the families who will be able to experience a week of magical memories in their new home away from home, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to IHG, the IHG Owners Association and all its loyal employees and guests for making this possible.”

Construction on the villas will begin in Spring 2013 and be completed by theend of 2013 in time for the busy holiday period, Colette Krahenbuhl, GKTW spokeswoman, said.

Each two-villa building, at 2,600 square feet, will accommodate up to 16 guests, allowing for nearly 120 additional families annually to stay at the 70-acre property.

The new villas will make 10 lodging accommodations the partnership has built over 26 years through fundraising efforts by the company, which has donated more than $6 million, including $500,000 to construct the new villas.

This includes fundraising through guests and the hotel company’s loyalty program that contributed to the contributions over the years.

“We are thrilled to celebrate this milestone, and that our brands, owners in the IHG Owners Association and our loyal guests have all been partners in helping this great charity achieve success during the past 26 years,” said Kirk Kinsell, president of Americas, IHG.

To further the partnership, the hotel company recently established the IHG Academy with GKTW and the Holiday Inn Lake Buena Vista Downtown hotel, which will allow the organization’s volunteers and staff to build their hospitality skills to better serve the families who stay at the village.

“We look forward to the success of the IHG Academy in collaboration with Give Kids The World, which will further enable their mission of fulfilling wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses,” Kinsell said.

The partnership between the charity and company first began when GKTW founder Henri Landwirth owned a Holiday Inn in Orlando in the 1970s. Wanting to give back to the community, Landwirth began the wish-granting organization on the hotel’s property in 1986, a first for the hotel chain.

Since its inception, the organization has hosted 7,000 families each year from all over the world, helping to build lasting memories with complimentary accommodations, donated attraction tickets and free meals for a fantasy vacation.