This year’s World Travel Market (WTM) was another fantastic year for Just a Drop, which saw staff, exhibitors, suppliers, attendees and celebrities coming together to show their support and so far raise an estimated £11,000 for the charity.

The monies raised from all the activities this year will fund a specific project to bring clean water to two schools in Kenya, which four members of the WTM team will visit in January.

Throughout the week, a range of activities to support the project took place at exhibitor stands, including Brand USA and Shop America’s designer watch auction, Squeezyball giving away their free stylish H2Wow water filter bottles and Affordable Car Hire’s raffle, all in aid of Just a Drop.

Support was also shown by ETOA who raised a further £5,000 at their gala dinner auction, Travel Bloggers Unite who hosted a reception evening and raffle, Bournemouth University, MADE, Chic Outlet Shopping and Survey On Tablet (whose staff sported some rather special Just a Drop branded ties and sashes!).

TV presenters John Craven and Nadia Sawalha, Olympic decathlon athlete Daley Thompson and adventurer Ben Fogle also offered up some encouragement by posing for photographs to promote Just a Drop’s work and spread the message that £1 could provide a child with clean, safe water for up to 10 years.

Kelly Railton, head of fundraising and communications at Just a Drop said, “We are so appreciative of the support and commitment shown by everyone involved in WTM. I am delighted that some of the members of the team will experience and see first-hand the outcomes of their hard work in supporting Just a Drop in Kenya, in January. WTM’s contribution to Just a Drop is significant and their ongoing support will ensure that the lives of many people will be significantly changed for the better; a sincere thank you to all.”

To top the week off, Just a Drop’s founder and chairman, Fiona Jeffery, was presented with a World Tourism Award in recognition of her vision in launching the charity. Fiona said, “…I’m dedicating this award to all the incredible people who’ve made Just a Drop possible over the years… It’s genuinely a collaborative of so many people from this amazing industry of ours and together we help to truly improve and transform lives with the simple gift of safe water.”

The activities of WTM follow on from a successful year for the charity in 2012/13 where, thanks in the main to the support of the travel industry, we have been able to deliver 40 projects in nine countries on three continents - supporting over 25,000 families access clean, safe water.