A Travel Counsellors agent and her family used a trip to Beaches Turks and Caicos to donate arts and crafts supplies to primary school children.
Homeworker Lucy Althorpe learned about non-profit organisation Pack For A Purpose through the Sandals Foundation before her family’s 10-day Caribbean holiday during October half-term.
The Pack for A Purpose mission is to: “positively impact communities around the world by assisting travellers who want to make meaningful contributions to the destinations that they visit”.
Althorpe and her family – husband Jon, and children Samuel, seven, and Emily, four – collected and bought stationery to donate to Enid Capron Primary School in the archipelago.
Althorpe, based in Kettering, Northamptonshire, said: “I am always mindful that I like the kids to be aware of where they are going. I always try to give back.
“When I saw the primary school on the website I just thought of the children.”
Lucy added: “Samuel told his best friends at school that he was taking stuff out for schoolchildren on his holiday.”
The family-of-four shopped for glitter pens, pencils, glue sticks and books but some of items were donated by parents at their school.
Althorpe, who has been a Travel Counsellors agent for six years, emailed clients about her Pack For A Purpose efforts after she returned from the Beaches Resort and said two of them offered to make donations through the scheme when they go away next June.
She praised Sandals and Beaches Resorts for their support during the pandemic, adding: “I have been selling Sandals for the past four or five years. Over the last 18 months I have really focused on them because they really support agents.
“I’ve had messages from Sandals during lockdown about supporting my business and they offer good commission.”