Tag Archives: donation

Virgin Voyages Donates 2,023 Vacations to Healthcare Workers

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Virgins Merlady the Valient Lady flying her Banner in Liverpool UK, Photo Credit Spacejunkie2 (Flickr)

Virgin Voyages is celebrating Giving Tuesday by paying it forward and honouring local healthcare heroes with the vacation of a lifetime, the company said, in a press release.

For the second consecutive year, the South Florida-based travel and lifestyle brand is partnering with Baptist Health South Florida and donating 2,023 complimentary voyages – totalling an estimated $5.9 million – for deserving employees to ring in the new year with their friends and loved ones.

“For the past three years, our local healthcare workers put everything on the line to care for the community, and now it’s our turn to pay it forward,” said Jill Stoneberg, Virgin Voyages’ Senior Director of Sustainability and Social Impact. “We’ve turned a corner, and we’d love to offer our frontline workers a much-deserved break. The Virgin Voyages team is honoured to give our friends at Baptist an incredible vacation on the high seas where they can unplug and escape for a few days.”

In celebration of the new year ahead, the 2,023 gifted sailings will recognize employees in the Baptist Health network who have made a positive impact in the local healthcare community, from patient-facing employees to those in behind-the-scenes roles that keep the hospitals, clinics and offices running smoothly, the company said.

Winners will receive a voyage for two in a Sea Terrace, a trendy balcony cabin with fun mood lighting, rainfall showers and a signature red hammock.

The 2,023 winners will select from one of six incredible Caribbean itineraries departing from Miami between Jan. 2 and April 28, 2023.

“At Baptist Health, we want our employees to thrive in their careers and all areas of their lives,” said Adriene McCoy, senior vice president and chief people officer at Baptist Health. “That includes prioritizing their well-being and time off since our people are the key to the essential and high-quality care we provide to our community. We are excited to partner with Virgin Voyages and grateful for their generosity in offering our dedicated employees an opportunity to vacation, rest and recharge.”

Pullmantur Cruises Donates 13 Tons of Food

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Pullmantur Cruises Donates Food to the Malaga City Council

Pullmantur Cruises has donated some 13 tons of food and beverages to the Malaga City Council (Spain) and the Government of the Colón Province (Panama).

Pullmantur said in a prepared statement that the food, which included an assortment of cold meats and sausages, canned fish, olive oil, coffee and dairy products, has been distributed among different shelters, soup kitchens, homes and associations, benefiting an estimated 1,800 people.

Explained President and CEO of Pullmantur, Richard J. Vogel: “It is food – perfectly fit for consumption – that we had onboard the Sovereign and Monarch and that we wanted to donate to help families facing difficult situations right now.

“As a company it is always our duty to act in a responsible manner, taking people into account and adding value in one way or another. We will continue to look at possible opportunities to make new food donations.”

The Monarch and Sovereign have been docked in the Port of Colón (Panama) and Malaga (Spain) since 13 and 20 March, respectively. The company expects to resume its cruise operations on May 30, 2020.

Charity aims to ‘double the hope and healing’ with ship

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By Tom Stieghorst
*InsightHardly a week goes by without an announcement by someone in the cruise industry of a charitable endeavor or donation.

Recently I was at a lunch on a cruise ship at the Port of Miami, where Azamara Club Cruises presented a $4,000 check to the head of one of the big travel agency networks, who is trying to raise $125,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

A week earlier, Carnival Corp. and the Carnival Foundation gave $200,000 to Create Common Good, an innovative job training program.

And millions have been raised across the industry this year for Typhoon Haiyan relief in the Philippines.*TomStieghorst

One of the biggest cruise-connected projects I have heard of, however, is the push to build an entire ship for medical care and training in Africa.

Mercy Ships, a 35-year-old charity, is raising funds for its first purpose-built hospital ship. It announced a contract at Cruise Shipping Miami with the China Shipbuilding Industry Corp. for a 36,600-gross-ton ship to be delivered in mid-2017. Plans call for the ship to be built at the Tianjin Xinang Shipyard.

Donald Stephens, founder and president of Mercy Ships, wouldn’t reveal the exact budget, but said it is more than the $75 million spent to convert and retrofit a cargo ship or ferry, such as the Africa Mercy, the latest of four ships the organization has operated.

With a purpose-built ship, Stephens said his group can deliver more beds, more and better operating rooms and improved training for medical personnel in the African countries where it mainly operates.

“You can design the ship to the hospital, rather than design the hospital around the ship,” he said.

Mercy Ships is in what Stephens said is a “quiet phase” of fundraising, where it is pursuing big-money donors to build momentum. It will soon begin seeking smaller contributions from individuals, he said.

One big gift has come from bond king Bill Gross and his wife, Sue, who contributed $20 million to match a gift of identical size from an anonymous donor.

Gross is the founder of Pimco, which runs the largest bond fund in the U.S. and has $1.9 trillion of assets under management.

Among the services delivered by the existing ship is maxillofacial reconstruction and tumor removal surgery. A three-minute video of various deformities and defects treated by Mercy Ships makes a compelling case for the need for action.

“Our goal with this [ship] is to more than double the hope and healing through life-changing surgeries provided to those with little access to specialized health care,” Stephens said, “and to increase the partnership of training and educational support of health professionals within the developing nations our ships will continue to serve.”