Abta’s LifeLine charity raised almost £2,500 on Tuesday (October 12) at a cycling event on the eve of the Travel Convention.
The ‘Ride for your LifeLine’ fundraiser was held at the Lee Valley VeloPark in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, generating donations from spectators and riders over the course of the afternoon.
The total was announced by Derek Jones, chief executive of Der Touristik UK, who told delegates at the convention about the work done by the charity amid the pandemic.
“With furlough coming to an end, we are seeing more requests for support,” he told the event at East Wintergarden in London’s Canary Wharf and online via a customised digital platform.
He urged delegates to think of LifeLine as being like a benevolent fund or staff insurance scheme: “It is there to help your people in their time of need.”
The charity also had a video message from a beneficiary of its support, Sam, who was made redundant and widowed last year.
He and his three-year-old daughter Molly had help from LifeLine with funeral and food shopping costs.
“At a time when I was on my knees and struggling, it was vital support,” he said on the video.
Delegates can enter a prize draw to win a Tui river cruise to help raise more funds for LifeLine.