TORONTO, ON--(Marketwired - April 28, 2016) - Last Saturday April 23, 2016 the Sunwing Foundation made a donation of 43 pairs of new soccer shoes to the local soccer school in Bijagua, Costa Rica. Janine Chapman, Chief Marketing & Technology Officer for the Sunwing Travel Group, visited the soccer field to make the gift to the aspiring young soccer players in person. She was accompanied by Daniel Xahuetitla, Marc Borgers and Mario Vargas from the NexusTours office in Costa Rica. At the same time a consignment of school supplies and sports equipment was also given to the local elementary school, Escuela Lider Bijagua.
Part of the Sunwing Travel Group, NexusTours provides a number of eco adventure and volcano tours in the Tenorio and Miravalles area, close to where the small, rural community of Bijagua is located. The NexusTours team had got to know the people of Bijagua, as several members of the town had been instrumental in setting up an association to help protect the local wildlife. The primary rainforest here is home to many of Costa Rica's indigenous and protected species including tapirs, two-toed and three-toed sloths, squirrel monkeys, jaguarundis and over 130 species of tropical birds.
Janine Chapman commented, "We're delighted to have been able to leverage our airline and destination management divisions to facilitate this donation to the local soccer school and help make a difference in the lives of these children. The overriding mission of the Sunwing Foundation is to support the education and development of youth in the communities where we operate."
Accepting the donation upon behalf of the soccer school was head coach, Erick Valerio, who explained that the school had been set up entirely by volunteers in the community to teach the children not only soccer skills but to encourage them to learn more about friendship and teamwork. He also added, "Many of the kids here come from families without many economic resources. You can see many don't have soccer shoes, let alone shoes that fit... On behalf of the whole community we thank you for thinking of us and being so generous. God bless you."
Since its inception in January 2015, the Sunwing Foundation has been active in supporting various youth, community and education projects. Aside from supporting the delivery of humanitarian aid and charitable goods, the Foundation also wholly sponsored the construction of Spicy Hill Early Childhood Institution in Trelawny, Jamaica last year in partnership with Helping Hands Jamaica and Food for the Poor Canada. For more information, click here.
To view images of the Sunwing Foundation soccer shoe donation, please click here.
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 passes on 100% of the charitable donations it raises 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.
About Sunwing Travel Group
One of the largest integrated travel businesses in North America, Sunwing Travel Group is comprised of Sunwing Vacations, the leading leisure tour operator in Canada; Sunwing Airlines, Canada's premier leisure airline; Signature Vacations, one of Canada's leading tour operators for all inclusive package vacations 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 Sunwing Travel Group's own hotel management company, an innovative organization that operates popular resort brands like Royalton Luxury Resorts, Memories, CHIC All Exclusive, and Starfish, across the Caribbean, Cuba and Mexico; while NexusTours provides destination management services to individuals, agencies, tour groups, corporate businesses and tour operators.
Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/4/28/11G095728/Images/Sunwing_Foundation_in_Costa_Rica-be7b7c25620ca134a12cf980ce5f804e.jpg
Contact Information:
For all media enquiries, please contact:
Kim Banjac
Communications Specialist
Sunwing Vacations
1-800-387-5602
media@sunwing.ca
