The TravelCares appeal launched by Travel Weekly in partnership with industry charity Abta LifeLine has surpassed £20,000 in donations to support those in the industry facing hardship due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The milestone was reached after the appeal received the latest in a string of generous donations, with a £1,500 contribution from the Travel Trade Consultancy and The Travel Vault.
Since its launch this summer, TravelCares has received a range of donations, large and small, with the funds going to help those who have lost their jobs or are facing other challenges.
Earlier week, organisers urged the industry to dig deep again as Christmas approached, while LifeLine encouraged those in need of emergency support including food vouchers over the festive period to make use of its services.
As of December 8, the appeal total stood at £20,888 including Gift Aid, with those in the trade asked to donate what they are able to help boost LifeLine’s funds in a period when its services and support are in particularly high demand.
Trudie Clements, LifeLine director, said: “Thank you to all those people and companies that have got behind our TravelCares appeal so far. Your support will help those colleagues in travel who really need help as a result of the pandemic and there is never a more important a time than Christmas.”
She added: “We want to do what we can to help this Christmas, so please spread the word about the help we can give, and if you can donate the cost of your gingerbread latte or your Secret Santa, those small contributions all added up really will make a family’s Christmas.”
Services provided by Abta LifeLine include emergency grants and vouchers, debt, benefit, housing and redeployment advice and mental health support.
Lucy Huxley, editor-in-chief of Travel Weekly, said: “We launched TravelCares in partnership with Trudie and Abta LifeLine as we witnessed the devastation caused to our industry by the pandemic, and wanted to do what we could do support those most in need.
“At the start of this week we hoped to pass the milestone of £20,000 in donations, and now this has been achieved thanks to the generosity of those in the trade, we hope even more will come forward and donate what they are able to allow TravelCares to help as many industry colleagues and friends as possible.”
How your donation to TravelCares could help
£50 will give a family an essential food shop, £50 will pay for a colleague to go through Abta LifeLine’s redeployment scheme (to help until travel fully recovers and opportunities open up again), £100 will give someone the expert debt, benefit and housing advice they may need and £300 will provide vital mental health support.
But LifeLine does so much more. From crisis grants to helping with priority bills (rent, utilities), and from providing essential household appliances to buying school uniform, the charity tailors its support to meet the needs of the individual or family.