Travel Weekly has pledged to raise £50,000 for good causes as it celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
Travel Weekly was first published as Travel News in 1969 and changed its name in 1991.
A range of celebrations is planned for 2019 to mark the anniversary and, with a focus on the future, the business has chosen five charities focusing on children as the beneficiaries of its fundraising activities throughout the year.
Travel Weekly managing director Stuart Parish said: “As the UK’s market-leading travel trade media business, we are looking forward to a great year of celebration as we mark 50 years of publishing as Travel News and Travel Weekly.
“This year also marks 10 years since we became an independent company, so there is a double reason for us to celebrate.”
He added: “Over the past 10 years we have raised more than £200,000 for charity at our events and through the fundraising efforts of our fantastic team, and last year alone we raised £30,000 for the Teenage Cancer Trust.
“In addition to remembering our heritage, our 50th anniversary is an opportunity to look to the future as a business and an industry, which is why we felt it was fitting to set ourselves a fundraising target of £50,000, which will be split across five charities with children at their heart.”
The £50,000 will be raised from collections at Travel Weekly’s flagship events including the Globe Travel Awards and Agent Achievement Awards, in addition to a range of sponsored events and challenges taken on by Travel Weekly’s editorial, commercial, office and events teams.
These are the five charities, nominated by members of the Travel Weekly team, that will benefit from this year’s fundraising efforts
The Children’s Trust is the UK’s leading charity for children with brain injury. The charity delivers rehabilitation, education and community services for children, young people and their families.
The Children’s Trust’s ambition is for all children with brain injury and neurodisability to have the opportunity to live the best life possible. Every year more than 40,000 children in the UK are left with a brain injury as a result of an accident or illness, while thousands more are born with brain injuries or develop severe disabilities as a result of a degenerative condition.
Reuben’s Retreat is a property in the northwest of England that aims to help relieve the distress of families and their close friends who have suffered the bereavement of a child or have a child suffering from a life-limiting or life-threatening illness.
Services include counselling, support groups, activity and therapy days, short breaks for children and bereavement breaks. The charity was founded in 2012 by travel industry professionals Nicola and Mike Graham after the death of their son Reuben from a rare brain tumour.
Stars works with individuals, families and medical professionals affected by syncope, a spontaneous loss of consciousness caused by an insufficient blood supply to the brain, and reflex anoxic seizures, where the heart and breathing stops temporarily, mainly in young children.
The charity aims to ensure that any person suffering from an unexplained loss of consciousness receives the correct diagnosis, appropriate treatment, informed support and signposting to the appropriate medical professional.
The Rainbow Trust supports families who have a child aged 0-18 years with a life-threatening or terminal illness and needs bespoke support.
Through its family support workers, the charity works with those in greatest need at home, in hospital and in the community.
Today, there are an estimated 49,000 children and young people in the UK living with a life-limiting or life-threatening condition who may require palliative care, and the Rainbow Trust focuses on those families who struggle to cope on a day to day basis.
Whizz-Kidz aims to transform the lives of disabled children by providing the equipment, support and life skills that can give them the chance to develop to their full potential.
The charity provides disabled children and young people with vital mobility equipment and ‘life journey services’, giving them opportunities to build friendships and have fun.
It provides training to help them gain skills and look forward to a bright future. Whizz-Kidz’s vision is that all disabled children’s lives should be full of fun, friendship and hope for an independent future.