Started in September following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Travel Agents Care is a passionate group of Travel Agents that want to give back. And at last weekend’s year-end TravelOnly training conference, it was announced that the group’s first campaign had surpassed its goal by 34 per cent, raising $6,770 so far for Global Medic.

This year has been especially difficult for many of the Caribbean islands that Canadian travellers often visit during the winter months. The devastating conditions caused by several natural disasters prompted TravelOnly agents Karen Gill, Marie Odorizzi, Sharon Loppie and Pat Probert, to act.

“We kept asking ourselves, what would we do if this happened to our families,” says Karen Gill, who worked with the team on founding Travel Agents Care with a simple mission - Travel agents working together to help those in need from around the world.

Their first campaign focused on raising money for Global Medic, which provides emergency relief to those affected by natural disasters and complex emergencies, like the back-to-back hurricanes that hit the region in September.

Having set a goal of $5,000, the team reached out to their travel network, setting up team captains across the country to promote the fundraising efforts and also collect supplies for those countries in need.

At last weekend’s TravelOnly training conference, Rahul Singh, the founder and executive director of Global Medic, spoke to agents about how Global Medic has assisted thousands of residents of the Caribbean islands over the years and how so much more effort is required throughout the area.

Following Singh's speech, Travel Agents Care announced that they had raised over $6,770 for Global Medic – 34 per cent above their goal of $5,000 – and collected thousands of dollars’ worth of supplies. A portion of the donations would also be allocated to help purchase water purification kits.

“It is heartwarming to see the travel community rally together and raise funds for families affected by the hurricanes.” said Rahul. “GlobalMedic is proud to partner and receive those funds. We’ll deliver desperately needed aid to help families recover.”

Many in the room on Saturday felt inspired to do more, with TravelOnly agents Pat Probert and Mary de Almeida challenging their colleagues to raise additional funds which they then matched, resulting in an amazing $1,000 personal donation.

VIDEO: In this five minute video clip, Karen Gill explains how Travel Agents Care came to be. (right-click video to play sound)

Gill and Odorizzi explain that their hope is that over time, Travel Agents Care will continue giving back to many countries and communities in need – including in our own backyards. “Every act of kindness goes a long way -- our vision is to keep reaching out and helping those in desperate need by donating funds and items to help in these situations.” they said.

For example, to raise even more money for hurricane relief, the team has extended the donation deadline for Global Medic by another four weeks, and is actively preparing for their next campaign, raising funds for the Norwegian Cruise Line charity Hope Starts Here.

With Hope Starts Here, NCL has partnered with non-profit relief organization All Hands Volunteers to rebuild schools in communities devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria, and NCL will match donations dollar for dollar, to a maximum of $1.25 million US.

If you would like to help those affected by natural disasters, you can donate to Global Medic. Or to get involved with Travel Agents Care, visit their website.

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