Trav Corp and TreadRight Foundation participants with ME to We's Craig Kielberger (middle row 3rd from left) along with Trav Corp CEO and TreadRight founder Brett Tollman (back row 3rd from right)
Brett Tollman addresses his guests
Maassai Warriors Jackson & Winston with Suzanne Christie
Brett Tollman, CEO of The Travel Corporation and its TreadRight Foundation was in town last week to launch their global partnership with Craig and Marc Kielburger’s ME To WE’s WE Trip.
Brett and Trav Corp’s Trafalgar, Contiki, Insight, Uniworld, Lion World, African Travel and Adventure World brands hosted a large group of travel partners to dinner at downtown Toronto’s Brassaii to celebrate the new partnership. In conjunction their brands’ vacations, travellers will now be able to add on WE Trip extensions in India, the Ecuadorian Amazon and Kenya.
“Through our not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, we have been working to create a positive impact to promote sustainable tourism wordwide, with carefully selected partners and projects and some of the numerous local communities we visit,” said Brett Tollman. “Many of our travellers are open to experiencing meaningful travel with unforgettable, moving experiences. We are therefore very excited to be supporting ME to WE’s outstanding immersive volunteer trips, which we will help promote with our 10,000 team members across the globe and with the involvement of our loyal travel partners globally.”
Each WE Trip takes place in a community where ME to WE partners on sustainable development projects through its WE Villages program. Half of ME to WE’s net profits are donated to its charitable partner and the other half is reinvested to grow ME to WE and its social mission.
Marc Kielberger addressed the group stressing the value of We Trip’s ‘travel with purpose’ which balances their efforts to make the world a better place and ensure their guests enjoy their engagement with the local communities.
On hand for the celebrations were ME to WE Maassai Warrior partners Jackson and Winston who told us the story of how their ME to WE engagement allowed them to go earn an education – something that had not been a possibility or a priority for their Maassai people previously. They recounted how their goal in life had been to become Maassaii Warriors – which required the killing of a lion as a right of passage. Thanks to Winston and Jackson’s inspiration and desire for an education, they convinced their village to change that age old standard – and replace it with earning an educational certificate.
In celebration of the Canadian launch event, TreadRight donated $5,000 to WE Charity which will go directly toward building a classroom in India. To date, WE Charity has built more than 1,000 schools and schoolrooms enabling more than 200,000 children to go to school. Hundreds of communities have also benefited from its water and sanitation projects, medical resources and alternative income programs.
Marc Kielberger and Brett Tollman with Winston and Jackson
