Exodus Travels has launched a charity with the aim of using travel to create sustainable change and promote responsible travel.
The Exodus Travel Foundation has created a short film with trustee and Olympic gold medallist hockey player Crista Cullen who climbed Kilimanjaro to raise awareness of female porters in Tanzania working on the mountain.
She completed the challenge carrying a 20kg bag on her head and a small rucksack on her back, as the locals do.
Also on the board of trustees is retired Exodus Travels managing director Pete Burrell.
Burrell, chairman of the foundation said: “We’re delighted to announce this exciting new chapter in our commitment to the world we love to travel. A natural step forward, it brings together all the projects we have already been contributing towards and allows us to focus on distributing funds in the most efficient way possible”.
As the foundation is a registered charity, donations from UK taxpayers will benefit from Gift Aid. All operational costs are funded by Exodus Travels meaning 100% of donations and fundraising is spent exclusively on projects, never admin.
The foundation has set a goal of raising £500,000 over the next three years, half of which will be directly donated from Exodus Travels.
Beneficiaries include The Inspiration Project, which sponsors local children to go on day trips to local wonders, Maa Trust helping to collect rainwater in the Masai Mara, and The Porter Project.
A trailer for the film can be viewed below.