During the Council of Hotel and Restaurant Trainers (CHART) 80th semiannual Hospitality Training Conference in New Orleans last month, nearly 40 CHART members and guests came a day early to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity. The volunteers traveled to a residential neighborhood where they helped a homeowner paint, put up a fence and install insulation.

CHART members and guests at the Habitat for Humanity volunteer site

"CHART comes to its host cities with an attitude of caring," says Mike Amos, franchise consultant for Perkins and Marie Callender's Inc. and president of CHART, in a statement. "We want to give back to the local community, while creating bonds among members and providing them an example of volunteerism they can take back to their restaurants and hotels."

Community service projects have been incorporated into CHART's semiannual conferences since 2002. The next conference will take place Feb. 5 to 8, 2011, at the Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort. For more information, visit www.chart.org.