(Washington, D.C., May 28, 2015) - Jill and Paul Kirwin, the latter who is president & CEO of Northcott Hospitality and AmericInn, contributed $5,000 to the American Hotel & Lodging Educational Foundation's (AH&LEF's) 2015 Annual Giving Campaign. 

Paul is an active member of the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), serving on the board of directors. Additionally, he serves on AH&LEF's board of trustees. A long-time supporter of AH&LEF, Paul has donated to the Annual Giving Campaign for the past eight consecutive years. This is his fourth gift at the six-diamond donor level.

Based in Minnesota, Northcott Hospitality has developed, operated and owned hotels and restaurants for over fifty years. Amongst its holding is AmericInn, a mid-scale hotel brand with 240 locations open and under development across the United States. 

"Jill and I welcome the opportunity to support the AH&LEF's Annual Giving Campaign and more importantly, the educational and career aspirations of our next generation of hospitality leaders," said Kirwin.

"We appreciate Paul and Jill's donation to support AH&LEF's programs," said Joori Jeon, AH&LEF president/ COO. "Donations to AH&LEF's Annual Giving Campaign are essential to our ongoing operations and allow AH&LEF trustees to allocate funds wherever the need is greatest."

The Annual Giving Campaign is AH&LEF's yearly fundraising initiative supported solely by the hospitality sector. Initiated in 1997, the program generates funds for AH&LEF's core programs that provide hospitality management students with academic scholarships, offer grants for pertinent industry research such as diversity and technology advancement, and promote hospitality as a career of choice. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised through the campaigns, and the Foundation is scheduled to disburse more than $1 million this year.

AH&LEF is the not-for-profit affiliate of AH&LA and is funded solely by charitable donations from progressive hospitality leaders and companies within the industry. In 2014, AH&LEF disbursed approximately $1 million to prepare promising college students for a career in hospitality, to attract and retain talented industry professionals, and to fund valuable research for the industry. Since the Foundation's inception, more than $19 million has been distributed through its scholarship, education, outreach, and research programs.