TORONTO — The travel industry came out in full force to support The YellowBird Foundation on Friday at the annual YellowBird Charity Golf Classic held at Glen Abbey in Oakville, sponsored by WestJet and WestJet Vacations.

The event was to raise funds for a school in the Turks and Caicos, the Ianthe Pratt Primary School, which was one of many schools severely damaged during the 2017 hurricane season. Two years later they are still struggling to rebuild and The YellowBird Foundation and Sandals Foundation are raising money to help rebuild 5 different sections of the school, benefitting 560 children ages 5 – 11.

“The weather cooperated and it has been another successful day raising money for a very worthy cause,” says Devin Kinasz, Publisher, Travelweek. “We all love travelling around the world, but very few of the destinations enjoy the standards of living we do in Canada, so it is important to give back and help when we can.”

The WestJet and WestJet Vacations team was on hand to lend support including Jane Clementino, Director of Agency Sales, and Tim Croyle, Vice President and General Manager of WestJet Vacations. WestJet’s newly appointed Vice President of Sales, Chuck Crowder, encouraged the golfers to “remember why we are here and that’s to support children and education in the Caribbean.”

The golf tournament on Friday was a fun day on the links, followed by a lunch with a silent and live auction.

Since its inception in 2005, The YellowBird Foundation has donated nearly $500,000 to educational initiatives in the Caribbean and Latin America, largely from money raised at this annual golf tournament.

“It is a fun day, but more importantly we raise money for a great cause and help children get the education they deserve,” says Kinasz. “I hope the projects we support will give children the opportunity to grow and understand there are people in the world who want to see them succeed.”

The YellowBird Foundation and WestJet thank all the participants and look forward to welcoming everyone again next year.