TORONTO — Sunwing Foundation recently honoured Canada’s servicemen and women with a special Nov. 11 collection onboard Sunwing Airlines flights, raising $5,000. The Sunwing Foundation then gave all donations made on Nov. 11 – and doubled the total amount raised by adding a donation of their own – to the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Fund.
Sunwing Travel Group COO Andrew Dawson met with local veteran Leslie Lefeuvre from the Royal Canadian Legion at the Sunwing offices in Toronto to pass on the donation on Nov. 28.
Funds were raised via the Sunwing Airlines spare change program which invites customers to donate unused spare change in any currency at the end of their vacation to the Sunwing Foundation, said Dawson.
A charitable initiative established by the Hunter family to support youth development projects in destinations served by the travel company, the Sunwing Foundation passes on 100% of all donations raised to local charity projects, as well as matching funds with a donation equivalent to the total value of the funds raised each year.
Sunwing Travel Group’s COO Andrew Dawson met with local veteran Leslie Lefeuvre from the Royal Canadian Legion at Sunwing’s offices in Toronto to pass on the donation of $5,000 to the Royal Canadian Legion Poppy Fund.
The money will support the Royal Canadian Legion in maintaining and improving services, as well as providing financial assistance to Canadian Armed Forces members, veterans, or their family members who are in financial distress. More information on the projects undertaken by the Sunwing Foundation can be found at sunwingfoundation.com.
Meanwhile Flight Centre Canada raised $31,500 for the Project Somos Children’s Village, an eco-sustainable community that focuses on orphan prevention in Guatemala, as part of its third annual Charity Trip.
Fifteen Flight Centre employees recently returned from a week-long trip to the Central American country which involved spending time at the village assisting with the completion of the fourth family home.
The Flight Centre Foundation chooses a different destination and different cause each year to help educate its team with respect to responsible travel initiatives whether social, economic, or environmental. Each trip also includes a tourism aspect so that the individuals not only work on a project but also learn about the destination simultaneously.
This year Aeromexico donated the flights to get the team to Guatemala, which had a direct impact on the ability to raise a significant amount in donations.
“We feel especially fortunate to be able to provide this opportunity to our people and absolutely couldn’t do it without the help of our airline sponsors,” said Allison Wallace, spokeswoman for the Flight Centre Travel Group. “This year Aeromexico made it possible for our group to go to a beautiful destination and do some incredibly meaningful work. Every year our people come back from these trips feeling a sense of purpose not only in their roles as travel experts, but also as global citizens.”
This year’s Flight Centre Travel Group team was made up of members from the Flight Centre Leisure, FCBT, Corporate Traveller, FCm Travel Solutions and Stage & Screen Travel Services brands from three different Provinces, all eager to help raise money for this worthy cause. Each member was responsible for raising a minimum $1,000 in donations to Project Somos.
