Humanitarian aid for Cuba: GlobalMedic and Sunwing employees and volunteers make a difference for 480 families in the wake of Hurricane Irma

MONTREAL, Sept. 22, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Community spirit was the order of the day at the Sunwing offices in Montreal this morning. Some fifty volunteers from GlobalMedic and Sunwing rolled up their sleeves and put together 480 family hygiene kits for victims of Hurricane Irma. Among other useful items, these kits contain water purification tablets, toothbrushes, toothpaste and soap. Each kit is designed to provide a family with drinking water for up to three months. In total, close to 2,000 people will benefit from the donation.

Spirit of solidarity on the part of Sunwing employees
Getting personally involved in the operation, Carmen Casal, Director of the local Cuba Tourism Office, also dropped by to lend a hand to the group of volunteers. Sam Char, Executive Vice-President of Sunwing Travel Group, was also present commenting, "What we are seeing here is a real show of generosity by our employees," says.  "This show of solidarity is a reflection of our enduring affection for Cuba and its people. We are proud to be partnering once more with GlobalMedic today and to have another opportunity to provide support for the communities affected by the Hurricane Irma."

A direct impact in the field
"We want to thank Sunwing for enabling us us send these hygiene kits to Cuba's Hurricane Irma victims at no charge," adds Rahul Singh, Executive Director and Board Member of GlobalMedic. Sunwing will ferry an initial planeload of humanitarian aid to Varadero from Montreal on Saturday, September 23rd. This latest humanitarian effort is one of a series of initiatives executed since Hurricane Irma first hit the Caribbean. It is also the first initiative held in the company's Montreal offices.

To donate to Global Medic's Hurricane Irma relief appeal, please visit http://www.sunwingtravelgroup.com/en/Community/Hurricane-irma

About Sunwing Foundation
A charitable initiative established by the Hunter family, the Sunwing Foundation reflects the Sunwing Travel Group's enduring commitment to the support and development of youth in the communities where it operates in the form of project funding or the transport of humanitarian aid. The Sunwing Foundation takes no administration fees and passes on 100% of the charitable donations it raises through the airline's spare change program to the communities that need it the most, funding educational and skills development projects to provide a direct, impactful, and sustainable improvement to quality of life for years to come.   Since its inception in 2015, the Sunwing Foundation has provided assistance to a number of sustainable projects, most notably the construction of the Spicy Hill Early Childhood Institution in Trelawny, Jamaica.

About Sunwing Travel Group
The largest integrated travel company in North America, Sunwing Travel Group is comprised of Sunwing Vacations and Signature Vacations, two of the leading leisure tour operators in Canada; Sunwing Airlines, Canada's premier leisure airline; and Vacation Express, a growing tour operator in the United States together with the Group's own travel retail businesses SellOffVacations.com and Luxe Destination Weddings. Blue Diamond Resorts is the Group's hotel management company, an innovative organization that operates popular resort brands including Royalton Luxury Resorts, Memories Resorts & Spa and Starfish Hotels & Resorts across the Caribbean and Mexico; while NexusTours provides destination management services to both direct to consumers and in partnership to tour operators.

About GlobalMedic
GlobalMedic is a registered Canadian charity that runs capacity building programs and provides disaster relief services to large-scale catastrophes around the world. GlobalMedic has responded to 180 disasters in 62 countries, including earthquakes in Ecuador, Haiti, Japan and Nepal; tsunamis in Japan and Sri Lanka; typhoons in the Philippines and Taiwan; hurricanes in Grenada and Guatemala; cyclones in India, Myanmar and Vanuatu; floods in Bangladesh, Mexico and Pakistan; drought and famine in Kenya and Mauritania; epidemics in Liberia and Sierra Leone; and complex emergencies in Gaza, Iraq, Mali, Somalia, Syria, Ukraine and Yemen. GlobalMedic has been using innovative UAV technology to save lives since 2014. UAVs helped us respond to Typhoon Hagupit in the Philippines, the 2015 earthquake in Nepal, the 2016 earthquake in Ecuador, and the 2017 landslides in Colombia. Imagery captured by our UAVs identified the most vulnerable and affected communities, allowing our teams to deliver aid where it was needed most. Through these responses, GlobalMedic is emerging as a leader in the operation of UAVs in disaster zones.

www.globalmedic.ca
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SOURCE Sunwing Foundation