Assistance for People in Need
One of the most important ways Travelport supports our communities is through corporate and employee contribution programmes. Many of our locations around the world raise money for local charities or to support disaster relief, as many of our employees did following the cyclone in Myanmar and earthquake in China. Travelport is matching up to $100,000 in employee contributions to agencies providing relief in those two countries. A 2005 campaign raised funds to rebuild a destroyed school and orphanage in a tsunami-devastated region of Thailand. Children who lost everything, even their families, now have some sense of normalcy in the post-tsunami era.
Partnering with Other Organisations
We partner with other organisations to address specific social and educational needs. In 2007, for example, Travelport formed an alliance with the International Youth Foundation and Fundaçã Abrinq to provide IT knowledge and real work experience for young people in the community of São Mateus on the periphery of the city of São Paulo, Brazil. The programme provided practical experience to 20 young people who were about to enter the job market. It also promoted digital inclusion for children, adolescents, youth and adults in the community – eventually reaching more than 2,000 individuals. Travelport employees around the world raised money for this initiative.
Charitable Contribution Match Program
Travelport is also partnering with employees who want to give back to their own communities. Through our new Charitable Contribution Match Program, we will match 50 percent of every charitable contribution employees make between $250 and $1,000. Although it is initially available to employees in the United States, we expect to offer similar programmes for employees around the world.
Community Volunteers
For many charitable groups, time is often more valuable than money, so we’re also working on a community affairs programme to support and encourage employee volunteerism. We have great individual and group efforts under way, including employees serving at soup kitchens, supporting orphanages and building homes for Habitat for Humanity.
Travelport Voluntourism Days
Under Travelport’s Voluntourism Days Programme, we provide up to five consecutive paid days per calendar year for employees who combine travel with service. The service must be at least 100 miles from an employee’s home. We see this as a way to support employees who participate in distant volunteer programs and to ease the personal financial burden associated with volunteering away from home.
Sustainability