UK travel industry team set to raise £100K for sick children in Jamaica

A UK travel industry team spearheaded by the UK managing director of Unique Vacations is preparing to travel to Jamaica to complete a gruelling four-day sports challenge to raise £100,000 to help sick children.

 

Karl Thompson, UK managing director of Unique Vacations, the UK representative of Sandals and Beaches Resorts and also UK director for the Sandals Foundation, came up with the idea for the annual Island Challenge four years ago.

 

So far the group has raised £85,000 but it is on track to reach £100,000, which would bring the total raised to date over the four years for life-changing medical care for children and babies in the Caribbean to £400,000.

 

Jamaica was chosen this year because of the devastating impact of Hurricane Melissa last year. The Sandals Foundation has already helped to buy equipment that has saved a baby’s life after it was born prematurely when the hurricane hit.

 

The 30-strong team include seven from the company’s UK head office: Thompson, design manager Bradley Mills, trade marketing executive Laura Gravenell, HR manager Ana Achitei, senior sales executive Molly Spring, senior credit controller Carla Hoyos and IT manager Lovette Burland.

 

Others taking part in the 2026 Sandals Foundation Island Challenge include representatives from British Airways. Hays Travel is the main sponsor of the event.

 

They will be running a half marathon, trekking through the jungle, hiking 4,500 feet up to the Blue Mountains, and taking part in an intense military endurance test.

 

Thompson said: “After the first challenge [in 2023] went so well we thought let’s do it again, and we brought in hiking and kayaking in the second challenge.

 

“We chose Jamaica this year on the back of the dreadful events of Hurricane Melissa last year as we thought this would be a great way to what we could to help Jamaica.

 

“We will probably get a dozen locals also taking part. It’s not a competition, we have got mixed abilities and it’s about coming together as a team and conquering something that is pretty difficult. The fourth day will be the fun bit – we will be led by the military and they will put us through our paces in the jungle!”

 

The group will also be having a “ceremonial coffee” at the top of the Blue Mountain on the fourth day to toast Sandals founder Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart.

 

“He always wanted to have a coffee as the sun was rising at the top of the Blue Mountain but he never made it,” explained Thompson.

 

All monies raised will go towards children’s healthcare teams at hospitals in the northern corridor of Jamaica which was worst-hit by the hurricane to deliver care and help with essential equipment and building repairs.

 

To date, Thompson has run more than 187km, kayaked across 21km of ocean, hiked 2,619 feet to the peak of Gros Piton in Saint Lucia and scaled an active volcano in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

 

The first Island Challenge took place in Antigua in 2023, and was followed by challenges in Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, raising just over £300,000 in three years. 

 

The Island Challenge – Jamaica 2026 is supported by partners Sandals Resorts, British Airways, Island Routes Adventure Tours and the Jamaica Tourism Board. Additional partners include Hearst, Mail Metro Media, Accord Marketing, Hays Travel, CC Hospitality Group, RedPill, InPrint, Piqniq, Mobile Media, and TripAdvisor.