Six Continents has made the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) its new global charitable partner, as part of a long-term commitment to return a percentage of its profits to the communities in which it operates.

The group, which operates more than 3,260 hotels worldwide, has pledged to donate £300,000 over the next three years to children's projects around the world.

Each year, £100,000 will be donated to a specific project. This year, the money will fund a scheme promoting education for more than 300,000 school-aged children in rural areas in the Philippines.

'As a global hospitality group our business involves people from all over the world and we wanted our chosen international charity to reflect this global spread,' said Mark Rigby, director of corporate affairs for Six Continents. 'The wellbeing and education of children is an area our customers and employees felt should receive support, and is an international concern.' Details: Six Continents +44 (0)20 7409 8101; UNICEF +44 (0)870 606 3377