20  Darden Restaurants When Darden employees see a problem or  need in the community, they jump in and go  to work. On almost any day of the year, you’ll  find Darden volunteers throughout North  So Linda talked to Senior Vice President of  Operations for Olive Garden’s Los Angeles  Division, Rob Viveros, about donating blinds,  and Rob made it happen. “The people there  were so excited,” Rob says. “One lady broke  down and cried because the blinds made her  feel so much more safe and secure.” At Darden, volunteerism “runs in the family.”  Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze,  and Smokey Bones and their employees  are all involved in a variety of regional and  national community events and programs.  Through the Cops & Lobsters program, for  example, Red Lobster restaurants invite law  enforcement officers to work as celebrity  servers and collect donations, raising mil- lions of dollars for Special Olympics. And  Olive Garden restaurants raise millions for the  national Leukemia and Lymphoma Society  through its annual Pasta for Pennies program,  which raised $3.2 million in fiscal 2004. By experimenting with different methods,  like aquaculture and stock and habitat enhance- ment, Perry’s scientists are not only collecting  promising data and learning valuable infor- mation about the spiny lobster’s habitat, but  they’re also providing information that could  ultimately increase all lobster populations  throughout the world. because these areas contain two of the most  important lobster fisheries in the Caribbean,”  says Dr. Dahlgren. “And because these fisher- ies are close to their maximum level of pro- ductivity, it’s important for their survival to  find a way to increase lobster stocks to meet  the increasing demand for lobsters. The  Darden grant is helping us find ways to do  that without putting the species or the envi- ronment at risk.” America working to better their communities  by serving on boards of charitable organiza- tions, working in local schools, raising funds  to fight disease, collecting toys for under- privileged children, mentoring students ... or  any of thousands of other acts of community  service. Here are a few other examples: “I put a lot of passion into my volunteer ser- vice,” says Cynthia, who tries to get involved  in a community project every month. “It  comes from my heart and is a real source of  joy and meaning in my life.” BUILDING STRONG COMMUNITIES Volunteer Spotlight • On a visit to a shelter for battered women and  their children in South Central Los Angeles,  Linda Landman-Gonzalez, Darden’s Director  of Diversity and Community Affairs, noticed  the home had no window coverings other  than sheets strung over a rod. •What started with several Ohio-area Olive  Garden and Red Lobster restaurant teams  shipping much-requested coffee to the 1485th  Army National Guard unit in Dover, OH,  became a whole lot more on New Year’s Day,  2004. The soldiers, who had been deployed  to Iraq the previous May, were planning to  have a New Year’s Day cookout, and were  unaware that a group of Darden employees  were planning to make it a feast for them.  • When Cynthia Meca, General Manager of  an Olive Garden in Tampa, Florida, heard  that one of her line cooks was competing in  an industry competition and Darden was a  sponsor, she knew she wanted to help. “I got  so excited about the competition, I said, ‘I tell  you what, I’ll get you chef coats’,” Cynthia  says. The competition was part of Pro Start,  a school-to-career program in which students  learn every aspect of food preparation and  participate in student competitions.  •Brad Richmond, SVP Finance & Strategic  Planning for Red Lobster, volunteers on the  board and executive committee of Florida’s  Blood Centers (FBC), formerly the Central  Florida Blood Bank. FBC is the largest blood  bank in Florida, and the fourth largest in the  nation. “I volunteer for the pure satisfaction it  gives me to be able to use my talents and skills  to help this organization,” he says. “I think it’s  a world-class organization and vital to main- taining strong health care in Central Florida.” On January 1, 2004, a “care package” arrived  in Iraq, courtesy of Red Lobster and Olive  Garden, loaded with strip steaks, Maine  lobster tails, and enough baked potatoes,  breadsticks, salad, desserts, and more to  feed the 225 servicemen and women of the  1485th stationed north of Baghdad! Corporate Responsibility  continued Baghdad “Care Package” Perry Institute Darden Restaurants