Our Culture
RCI has grown dramatically since its founding more than 37 years ago, becoming a global leader in the vacation exchange industry. While many things have changed, the values we consider the heart and soul of the company have remained intact since our first office opened in Virginia, USA in 1974.
These guiding principles remain the key to our success:
- Act with integrity
- Respect everyone, everywhere
- Provide individual opportunity and accountability
- Improve our customers’ lives
- Support our communities
Our guiding principles include initiatives that preserve the environment, support local communities through fundraising and volunteer work, and contribute to regional causes throughout the world.
Going Green
In 2008, RCI launched a green initiative to address the impact of its business practices on sustaining, improving, and preserving the environment today and for future generations. Among RCI’s recent green efforts:
- The company’s 2008 and 2009 RCI Directory of Affiliated Resorts, and all member and business magazines were printed on environmentally-friendly paper stock.
- To conserve paper use whenever possible, RCI now uses e-mail instead of print versions of notifications and confirmations to its members.
- In our offices, we’re moving toward:
- using only recycled paper
- we’ve replaced foam plates, cups, and trays from company cafeterias and coffee rooms with items made from recycled materials
- we are encouraging less printing and more use of doc uments stored on computers
- we’ve made energy-saving improvements to our buildings, such as installing new higher efficiency lighting, appliances, heating and cooling systems.
- Kettering site operates a 100% recycling policy with 70% of its waste recycled and 30% burnt locally for energy.
Christel House
RCI strongly believes in the mission of Christel House, which is the organisation’s charity of choice. Established in 1998 by RCI co-founder Christel DeHaan, Christel House International is a public charity with a mission to help impoverished children around the world break the cycle of poverty. Christel House works with 2,700 underprivileged children, providing health care, opportunities for education, counselling, positive role models, job placement assistance, and community outreach programmes.
RCI staff help Christel House pursue its mission through fundraisers, employee donations and through voluntary work. New events to benefit the charity are added to the corporate calendar on a regular basis. In 2009, more than $300,000 was raised and donated to Christel House on behalf of RCI and its staff, and countless hours were devoted by staff to the cause.
To learn more about Christel House International, please visit www.ChristelHouse.org.
Other charities benefiting from RCI…
Other charities supported by RCI include The American Cancer Society; The Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA); Red Cross South Africa; The Orlando Homeless Shelter for Women; The Salvation Army; Beyond the Moon in Belgium, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands; Heart Research U.K.; Wooden Spoon in the U.K. and Ireland; and many more.