The TreadRight Foundation has launched a new ‘Tread the Pledge’ fund, awarding $10,000 in grants to community and sustainable tourism development projects around the world.

The not-for-profit arm of the Travel Corporation sent a call to its travel directors in November asking them to nominate projects they were personally involved with in their communities.

Members of staff at Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Luxury Gold and Costsaver were involved in the process.

Nominations closed on at the end of January and recipients were selected in March.

The four organisations chosen as the Tread the Pledge Fund recipients will each be awarded with a $2,500 grant to help them continue their efforts in supporting local communities around the world.

“Our travel directors see first-hand the impact of the travel industry on the environment, wildlife and communities, and they are deeply passionate about TreadRight mission to make travel matter,” says Ulla Hefel Böhler, chief executive of Insight Vacations.

The inaugural fund recipients are spread out globally, with some on the frontlines of the Covid-19 response.

RPJ Helping Hands is a not-for-profit dedicated to feeding the homeless and hungry twice a week, averaging 2,000 meals per month.
Due to Covid-19, their beneficiaries have increased six-fold, and they are on the frontlines to ensure more than 3,000 meals are being served at a time.

Smiling Children Italia sponsors children in Kenya, enabling them to attend either primary or secondary school.

Lorena Schiavon, also a travel director for Insight Vacations, initiated this charity and personally contributes much of her free time to providing the children with school materials, clothing, books, and arranging transportation during the holidays between their home and school.

Clean and Proud collects and upcycles single-use plastic waste into handicrafts along with unique, locally sourced fabrics, which are then distributed to tourists in Malawi and wholesalers in Europe.

In response to Covid-19, they have developed hygiene packs that include face masks.

They are also investigating potential solutions to the challenge of accessing reliable and clean electricity in Malawi’s rural communities.

Finally, Walkers4Water/Charity Water (global), nominated by Aryan Taefi of Trafalgar and Costsaver.

The body helps bring clean water to thousands of people in remote communities by raising funds, 100 per cent of which go to the project which donors can then directly track online.

Their most recent project was in Mali.

More Information

For more information about TreadRight and these projects as they are launched throughout the month of May, visit the official website.