G Adventures’ non-profit partner Planeterra Foundation is releasing emergency grants to impoverished communities around the world while making a global fund raising appeal.
The immediate funds are going to 85 projects, which support 65,000 people worldwide.
Canadian social enterprise Planeterra also called on travellers and organisations to offer their support to raise C$50,000 through a ‘Turn Travel into Impact from Home’ campaign to help communities in immediate need due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The campaign has already raised C$15,000 in the past two weeks, allowing it to transfer grants to six partners to help support basic community needs, including food and medicine.
The AidChild Leadership Institute in Uganda was among the first to receive funding to provide food for 67 HIV-positive orphans.
Planeterra president Jamie Sweeting, sustainability vice president at G Adventures, said fragile communities need the support now to ensure they are protected and can continue to offer life changing experiences when travellers return in the future.
He said: “Our global team is working overtime to support our projects, with grants to purchase food and medicine already going out to communities in Morocco, Belize, and Botswana.
“We’re encouraged by projects that are helping one another and their communities, and we hope this fund will provide some relief and help to ensure jobs and organizations remain intact for when travellers inevitably return.”