Following the success of Danny Boyle’s 2008 film, Slumdog Millionaire, the eyes of the world have focused on Mumbai and turned awareness of its specific inequities into a global issue.

With its 33-storey glass tower and central Worli location, Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai stands proudly as an iconic reference to the aspiring spirit of the new India. However, since first arriving in Worli in 2006, the Hotel’s team has been acutely aware of the importance of embracing the existing cultural, social and economic needs of its local community.

Even before its doors opened in June 2008, the Hotel had inaugurated its Hospitality Apprenticeship Programme, aimed at offering local and underprivileged 17 to 21 year olds the skills they need to succeed in the industry, and established close links with The Vatsalya Foundation, a local project committed to improving the lives of some of the area’s most vulnerable children. The Hotel also backs the Mumbai Terry Fox Run and strongly advocates the use of Indian produce in its restaurants, supporting independent farmers and producers throughout the country.

“Every business in the city has a role to play in the transition of its local neighbourhood,” said Vincent Hoogewijs, the Hotel’s General Manager. “It’s the only way to ensure that Mumbai will prosper as a city of the future.”

Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai is currently involved in the following local and national projects and initiatives:

Hospitality Apprenticeship Programme – This two-year vocational training opportunity – designed by the Hotel in accordance with the guidelines and syllabus of the Ministry of Labour – enables 17- to 21-year-old Indian youth to obtain the theoretical knowledge and practical skills necessary to be competitive in the hospitality industry.

The programme is primarily aimed at local underprivileged young adults, for whom the expense of education, including hotel schools, precludes access to any meaningful career. Apprentices train in hotel operations for five days each week and attend theory classes taught by the Hotel’s senior management on the sixth day. Additional tutelage is provided in languages and maths, with a mentor programme easing the transition to the professional environment.

Performance appraisals and intermediate tests are taken at regular intervals, and the programme concludes with apprentices sitting for the final examination to obtain their apprenticeship certificate from the Government of India. A Four Seasons certificate of completion is also issued to successful participants.

The Vatsalya Foundation – The Vatsalya Foundation is a Worli-based organisation committed to improving the lives of Mumbai’s street children through an all-encompassing programme of education, health care, rehabilitation and skills training.

Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai has worked with The Vatsalya Foundation since 2006, and one of its 18-year-old protégés, Shankar, was enrolled in the Hospitality Apprenticeship Programme’s inaugural intake.

In addition to working with the foundation on the apprenticeship programme, the Hotel organises a series of events throughout the year, including Valentine’s and Christmas celebrations, play sessions, skills sharing and a competition to design the Hotel’s annual festive greeting card. Many Hotel staff members volunteer at The Vatsalya Foundation and have established close relationships with the children. The Hotel’s Concierge also sells books from a specially compiled list – Great India Reads – with all proceeds donated to the foundation.

Terry Fox Run – Despite losing his right leg to bone cancer in 1977, Canadian-born Terry Fox, then 18 years old, embarked on a self-proclaimed Marathon of Hope to raise funds for other young cancer sufferers. After completing 5,373 kilometres (3,339 miles) in 143 days, he lost his own battle for life, at the age of just 22. Since Terry’s death, over USD 400 million has been raised worldwide for cancer research through non-competitive runs organised in his name.

Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai supported Mumbai’s 2009 Terry Fox Run through the organisation of a silent auction. Held at Trident Towers, the auction raised a sum of INR 419,853, which was donated to Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai for cancer research.

Support for Indian farmers and producers – Four Seasons Hotel Mumbai has scoured India for the country’s finest produce. Highlights include:

• India’s finest single estate teas, including rare first and second flushes from the country’s most coveted tea gardens, such as Jungpana, Goomtee and Temi – the Hotel has also been granted a retail licence by the Tea Board of India and is the only Hotel in the country to receive this honour
• Organic eggs – all eggs served in the Hotel are organic and from Kegg Farm in Delhi, India’s first producer of “cage-free” eggs as recognised by the Humane Society International (the Hotel is the only one in Mumbai to serve Kegg eggs)
• Free-range and organically fed rabbit and baby goat – exclusively bred for the Hotel by Maruthan Farm in Coimbatore
• Exotic herbs – grown by Jatia Farm in Pune from seeds specially selected by the Hotel from Japan and Europe
• Mountain cheese – made by Hampi Wuthrich, an independent producer in the Manali Mountains
• Plates and tabletop items – made exclusively for the Hotel by Pinakin Pottery, a small ceramics business based in Pune