Flight Centre Raises $35,000 for Project Somos
Flight Centre Canada reports its Fourth Annual Charity Trip raised $35,000 for the Project Somos Children’s Village, an eco-sustainable educational community aiming to break the cycle of poverty in Guatemala by providing quality education and healthy food to families in need.
Twelve Flight Centre employees recently returned from a week-long trip to the Central American country which involved spending time with the 30 children that attend the education and nutrition program, helping with food preparation, light construction, and gardening.
As an education centre, the Village provides programming to children in the surrounding community who were falling through the cracks of the Guatemalan system. Project Somos further supports the children’s families by providing vocational training and opportunities to the mothers, as well as parenting classes in topics like nutrition and hygiene.
“The Flight Centre Foundation reflects our company’s profound commitment to corporate social responsibility,” said Allison Wallace, SVP Communication and Engagement. “Our annual charity trip allows our people to give back to the places where we book sustainable travel, through life-changing work for all those involved.”
This year’s fundraising amount goes toward helping provide a chance, and change, for some of the most disenfranchised, and most deserving, families in Guatemala. Each Flightie (as employees are affectionately called) involved raised well over the $1,000 donation minimum requirement to participate in the charity trip. The trip also included tourism aspects such as a visit to the Spanish Colonial town of Antigua and an Urban Adventures tour of the local markets and coffee plantations, allowing the employees (many of whom are travel agents) to learn more about the beautiful Central American destination.
Pictured (l-r), Caroline Everett, Tammy Asis, Mitch Jarvi, Carolyn Menard, Allison Wallace, DeeDee Sixto, Michelle MacMillan, Diana O’Connell, Viresh Prasad, Lindsay Smith, Greg Kemp (co-founder), Marla Ruiz (Somos staff), Heather Knox (co-founder).
