Hilton Garden Inn donates pillows to animals in need

EXTON >> The Hilton Garden Inn Exton/West Chester offers more than just comfortable accommodations to its guests. The hotel recently donated more than 100 pillows to the Brandywine Valley SPCA in West Chester. The SPCA serves as home to a number of animals hoping to be adopted by loving families. The pillows are used to provide them with a comfortable bed during their time at the shelter.

“The pillows are very beneficial to the animals here,” said Andrew Haman, shelter manager at the Brandywine Valley SPCA. “It makes them comfy and makes them very relaxed.”

This community outreach program established by the hotel is one of a number of community and environmentally driven initiatives in which the Hilton Garden Inn Exton/West Chester has embarked. The hotel recently received its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification, one of a handful of area hotels to achieve such an accomplishment. LEED Silver certification is a voluntary consensus based, market driven program developed by the U.S. Green Building

Council that provides thirdparty verification of green buildings. The LEED Green Building Rating System assesses the way buildings are designed, constructed and operated.

Some of the key aspects of the LEED certification for the Hilton Garden Inn Exton/West Chester include the use of solar panels to heat a portion of the

domestically used hot water in the hotel. Another example of an environmentally friendly initiative is the installation of electric car charging stations at the hotel for use by guests driving ecofriendly vehicles. Guest rooms are also equipped with motion sensors which reduce lighting and heating/cooling use when the rooms are unoccupied. In addition, the property utilizes a rain water collection system that stores runoff in ponds at the

front of the hotel and then reuses the water for landscaping irrigation.

“This is a win-win-win situation,” states David Hirsch, general manager. “Our guests continue to enjoy the newest Hilton Garden Inn pillows because they are regularly replaced, the animals at the SPCA are made much more comfortable during their own ‘overnight’ stays, and all of these used pillows do not end up in a landfill, in keeping with our green practices.”

SUBMITTED PHOTO Hilton Garden Inn Exton Chief Engineer Jeff Coppolino donates pillows with a member of the Brandywine Valley SPCA staff.