Recent fundraising and donation drive supported organizations dedicated to alleviating hunger

New York, NY (July 30, 2018) — Travel Leaders Group recently concluded its annual Day of Giving campaign, collecting more than 19,000 non-perishable items for donation to local food banks across North America and internationally as well as nearly $70,000 in monetary donations directed to Feeding America and other organizations dedicated to alleviating hunger. Additionally, more than 700 individuals volunteered at a wide variety of organizations within their local communities to support hunger-related initiatives.

“Some 41 million people are facing hunger in the U.S., alone, with 13 million of those being children and more than five million who are seniors,” said Travel Leaders Group CEO Ninan Chacko, CTC, citing statistics from Feeding America, the nation’s largest domestic hunger relief organization. “Given that hunger is an issue that affects virtually every community, we chose to make it our focus during our annual Day of Giving campaign. I am very proud of what our team members, supplier partners, scores of travel agents affiliated with our organization and their clients achieved during this year’s campaign,” he added.

Among the many fundraising and volunteer initiatives undertaken by Travel Leaders Group units:

• Travel Leaders Group employees in the company’s Plymouth, Minn. office collected food and monetary donations and, additionally, a team of volunteers gave their time to the Second Hand Harvest Food Shelf and Interfaith Outreach & Community Partners organizations.
• The Travel Leaders Corporate team throughout the U.S. collected donations, sorted and packed items and served food at a wide variety of different food banks and shelters ranging from Feeding South Florida and Feeding the Gulf Coast to Atlanta’s Must Ministries and Feed My Starving Children locations in Minneapolis and Chicago, among many others.
• Tzell Travel Group also raised funds, collected food donations and volunteered at a variety of locations including a meal center in West Harlem as well as conducting a virtual drive to raise funds for the Food Bank for New York City.
• The Protravel International team collected food and monetary donations across the country and volunteered with those efforts benefitting Boca Helping Hands, a meal center in East Harlem, Feed Southern California and the Kids Food Basket in Grand Rapids, Mich. among many other locations.
• Cruise Specialists in Seattle held a donation drive to benefit the Greenwood Salvation Army Food Bank.
• Nexion team members, based in Irving, Texas and throughout the U.S. and Canada, raised funds and donated time and money to support the North Texas Food Bank along with many other organizations in Nexion members’ local communities.
• Travel Leaders Network agencies across North America volunteered and donated goods and money to numerous food banks and relief organizations spanning coast to coast. Among the many beneficiaries were Omaha Veteran’s Home, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, Summit County Colorado Family & Intercultural Resource Center and the Emergency Relief Association of Bucks County, to name a few.
• The Travel Leaders Group Alexandria, Va. team collected food and monetary donations as well as organized a group volunteer activity to support Senior Services of Alexandria which benefits area seniors.
• Travel Leaders’ UK employees worked collaboratively across business units to collect food donations for the Westminster Chapel which provides food to local residents.

“Summer is typically when food banks’ supplies are reduced with less people contributing, which is a special concern for children who are on summer break and not receiving some of their meals at school,” said Chacko. “Therefore, we timed our Day of Giving hunger alleviation efforts specifically to address that challenge and, in the process, made a positive impact in dozens and dozens of communities to support those in need.”

About Travel Leaders Group

Travel Leaders Group (www.travelleadersgroup.com) is transforming travel with a commitment to our vacation and business travel clients through our progressive approach toward each unique travel experience. Having already assisted millions of travelers, Travel Leaders Group manages leisure, business and franchise travel operations under a variety of diversified divisions and brands. With over 7,000 agency locations, Travel Leaders Group ranks as one of the industry’s largest traditional travel agency companies.

2018: Year of the Travel Agent

Travel Leaders Group has named 2018 Year of the Travel Agent. Over the last decade, the travel agency industry has flourished through technology, the growth of travel options and personalized service. Travel Leaders Group represents more than 52,000 travel agents with unmatched expertise in 135,000 destinations and 53,000 areas of interest. Travelers and suppliers have rediscovered the value a professional travel advisor delivers to the travel experience. Travel agents help to move people around the world, and keep our economy growing.