Four Seasons Family Gives Back: Turtles, tennis & playgrounds for kids at Four Seasons Nevis

It’s easy to be generous during the holidays. We donate to the food bank, pitch in to help out a neighbor or volunteer at the local soup kitchen. We donate toys to a shelter or orphanage. We parents know it’s a great opportunity to teach our children about empathy, community and compassion. But what about the rest of the year?

Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts puts giving back top of the list of its corporate priorities. We wanted to tell you about what some of our Four Seasons around the world are doing—and how our family guests can get in on it.

In the West Indies at Four Seasons Resort Nevis, staff and guests collaborate on three worthy programs year-round.

The first hugely popular one is a Sea Turtle Education Program day camp for guests three to nine. The curriculum is designed by the Sea Turtle Conservancy: turtle watch beach walks, arts and crafts, interactive games and videos and drawing contests. Kids learn how to protect endangered sea turtles’ beach habitat and get a better understanding about the turtles’ incredible migration through hundreds, even thousands, of miles of ocean.

The day camp fee goes towards tagging two turtles with GPS satellite transmitters every summer. When the turtles are released back into the wild, kids can track their adopted buddies online via the Tour de Turtles. The resort also hosts an annual Sea Turtle Summer Camp for Nevisian kids, in partnership with the local Nevis Turtle Group and the Sea Turtle Conservancy.

During the holidays, the annual Guest Tennis Tournament is a charity event. The resort uses the entry fees to buy racquets for an annual summer tennis camp for local youth. Even better: the kids get to keep the racquets so they can keep honing their skills. (For non-tennis players, the resort stages a pro tennis exhibition where guests get to watch some dazzling skills in action.)

Four Seasons Resort Nevis guests and staff also pitch in on the Nevis Community Playground Project. In place of receiving a special holiday in-room gift, guests can opt to route the funds to support the project. Staff volunteers and interested guests build playgrounds at local community centers, church play yards and schools around the island—fun! So far they’ve built four playgrounds. Plans are underway for at least six more.

Read more on Nevis, West Indies in Four Seasons Magazine. 

Read our “Concierge Recommendations” for Nevis in Four Seasons Magazine.