ITM Hospitality Fund
Since its launch in February of 2002, the ITM Hospitality Fund has provided no-cost hotel accommodations to hundreds of needy patients and their families who face the daunting experience and expense of traveling to New York City for critical medical treatment. It is the only citywide program of its kind.
The Fund's contribution of hotel rooms is devoted to easing the emotional and financial burden of being away from home to receive urgent medical care for life threatening conditions, and to "empower" patients with the presence of loved ones. The ITM Hospitality Fund has partnered with over a dozen New York area medical centers (NYU, Mt. Sinai, NY-Presbyterian, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and others) to donate lodging to needy patients being treated at these facilities and their families.
Co-founded by Jody Merl, President of Innovative Travel Marketing (ITM), the leading barter company specializing in hotel/travel advertising and marketing, and Michael Stoler, President of New York Real Estate TV, LLC and Managing Director at Madison Realty Capital, the ITM Hospitality Fund was established by Jody with an endowment of hotel rooms from her barter inventory in Manhattan. It is administered directly with the hospitals' departments of social work, physicians or medical agencies/associations.
The impetus for creating the Fund was to put barter to work for a meaningful cause in order to use available room inventory to aid the less fortunate. "We pamper families who are in a very fragile state with the convenience and comfort of hotel rooms in their time of need," says Jody. "It is an enormous help to minimize the expenses of travel. We feel blessed to enable loved ones to be in close proximity to the patient, in order to heal their spirits and support recovery."
The ITM Hospitality Fund welcomes donations of New York City hotel rooms on a space available basis. Click here to contribute your hotel rooms.
Innovative Travel Marketing (ITM) specializes in Strategic Media Planning, Buying & Barter for the Hotel and Travel Industry. For more information on how you can expand your marketing program go to www.innovativetravelmarketing.com.