The Latin American Travel Association (LATA) has raised over £6000 for the LATA Foundation projects and the Sol & Luna Association, in its first ‘captains of industry’ lunch.
Organised by LATA and the LATA Foundation in conjunction with the Sol y Luna Association, the event took place on 21 November at Gaucho, Piccadilly, welcoming key members of the UK and Latin American travel industries for a first-of-its-kind fundraising event.
Supported by a number of sponsors including Hotel Sol & Luna, Delfin, La Bamba de Areco, Ecoventura, Awasi, Hotel de Parque, Australis, British Airways & Iberia, and Hotel B, the event featured a raffle and an auction, led by Sotheby’s auctioneer Henry House, with proceeds being split between the Sol y Luna Association and the other LATA Foundation projects.
Committed to making a change to the lives of children from Peru’s Sacred Valley, the Sol y Luna Foundation provides holistic, community-based education, offering a solid, progressive pedagogical base for children, as well as providing social support for parents and families. Originally set up as an educational project, in January 2019, the Sol y Luna Home was created to provide refuge and a warm environment for vulnerable children and young people.
Proceeds will also go to other LATA Foundation grassroots initiatives including those encompassing conservation, poverty relief, sustainable development, economic growth & regeneration and the promotion of ethical and responsible business practices.
The event welcomed LATA Chair, Colin Stewart, LATA Foundation Chair, Jude Berry and the Sol & Luna Association’s founder Petit Miribel who outlined the project’s history and recent successes.
Guests were treated to a key note speech by broadcaster, adventurer and travel writer Pip Stewart who recounted some of her 3000-mile journey travelling from Brazil to Peru, and her more recent expedition in Guyana, achieving a world first by kayaking the entire length of the Essequibo River as part of an all-female team.
LATA Chair Colin Stewart concludes:
“On behalf of LATA and the LATA Foundation, we are delighted to see the travel industry come together to raise essential funds for Sol y Luna and the other LATA Foundation projects. This was an opportunity for us to get in front of key travel industry members to showcase the great projects that the LATA Foundation contributes towards in Latin America, to establish new relationships with travel industry partners and to thank our regular donor companies. I’d like to extend my thanks to everyone who was involved in making this event such as success.”