TORONTO — Sunwing is partnering with Hakim Optical this holiday season to spread cheer and give back to local children across the Caribbean and Mexico.

From now until Jan. 6, 2020, the Sunwing Foundation will be collecting new and gently-used children’s books at select Hakim Optical locations across the Greater Toronto Area.

As a thank you for their generosity, customers who make a book donation in store will receive a $50 Hakim Optical gift card for prescription eyeglasses. They’ll also be able to enter a contest to win an all-inclusive vacation for two adults and two children to Riu Emerald Bay in Mazatlán.

Donations collected at Hakim Optical locations will be flown to destinations across the Caribbean and Mexico onboard Sunwing Airlines. Books will then be distributed to local school children as part of the Sunwing Foundation’s Flying Start initiative.

Established in 2018, the Flying Start initiative aims to provide students in the destinations that Sunwing serves with all the essential tools necessary for a successful education. To date, the initiative has supported communities across Jamaica, Tobago, Antigua & Barbuda and the Dominican Republic.

“All too often children’s reading books are discarded or left to gather dust in basements when their owners have outgrown them. The Flying Start program seeks to find new homes for gently-used children’s reading books with children across the Caribbean and Mexico who often do not have the resources to have their own personal library,” said Stephen Hunter, CEO of Sunwing Travel Group. “Reading is key to a child getting a successful education and we appreciate this partnership with Hakim Optical and the generosity of Torontonians in helping us give children a Flying Start this holiday season.”

The Sunwing Foundation operates in the form of project funding and transport of humanitarian aid. Sunwing matches all donations received through its Spare Change Program on board Sunwing Airlines, no administrative fees are collected and 100% of the proceeds go to the communities that need it the most.

For a full list of Hakim Optical locations participating in this initiative, click here. For more information on the Sunwing Foundation please visit www.sunwingfoundation.com