Thursday, November 10, 2016

Charity of the Month: The Sandals Foundation

Charity of the Month is a way Team Tizzel is helping to support some very worthy organizations. As part of this program, we will dedicate a post to a charity that we will sponsor through the month by donating Holly's training run money.

October: October was Breast Cancer Awareness Month so we sponsored a friend of ours in the Avon Foundation's Walk to End Breast Cancer. We supported Christine's efforts with a $125 donation. Even though the event is over you can still donate at Christine's page.

November Charity of the Month:

The Sandals Foundation

If you've followed us for many years you know we are fans of The Sandals Resort chain. The rooms are very nice, dining options are varied and range from good to excellent, and the staff does everything they can to make sure you are taken care of. Sandals runs its own charity foundation to help Caribbean communities (from their website) in three core areas: community, education and the environment. All administrative and management costs associated with the Sandals Foundation are supported by Sandals Resorts International, therefore 100 percent of all funds raised by the Foundation go directly to programs benefitting the Caribbean community.

We had a trip scheduled to go to their Exumas, Bahamas property. Hurricane Matthew changed those plans when the Bahamas (especially the Out Islands) got hit pretty hard. The resort received enough damage to close for a few months. Rather than leave guests stranded, they offered options to choose another Sandals resort, cancel the booking, or honor guests quoted prices into 2017. We chose the option of switching to another resort on the island of Grenada (new country for us). Problem was our flights were booked to Exuma. Sandals paid the difference to change our flight - the cost of the incremental airfare and change fees. Six weeks out this was not cheap. Going this extra mile shows how committed the brand is to their guests.

We've supported the foundation for years because we have seen the impact first-hand on school visits in Jamaica and talking to students in their sponsored hospitality programs. Currently the Sandals Foundation is holding a campaign fund drive to aid the hurricane victims in Bahamas and Haiti (Sandals does not have any properties in Haiti). We thought this would be a good time to lend our help to those in need while recognizing a company that still takes the guest experience serious. Click the Donate Now to learn more about the foundation and to donate.

 

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