Staff at two travel agents on the Isle of Man have bucked the usual ‘Secret Santa’ trend this Christmas by donating what they would have spent to ‘Wish Upon A Dream’.
Employees of Mann Link Travel and Richmond Travel, both part of the Online Regional Travel Group (ORTG), came up with the idea after deciding they would rather see a local charity benefit from their festive generosity.
Wish Upon A Dream’s founder, Lesley Turnbull, collected a cheque for £245 from staff; all of the money raised will be used to grant wishes to Manx children with life-limiting and life-threatening medical conditions. The charity, founded in 2007, does not reclaim any administration expenses from donations received or pay any of its Directors a salary.
Lesley commented: “On behalf of Wish Upon A Dream I would like to thank Mann Link Travel and Richmond Travel staff for their very kind-hearted gesture, which will be used to bring an immeasurable amount of joy to some very poorly children on the Island early in the New Year. We have already made a difference to the lives of many young people and their families since we started the charity, and without the generosity of companies such as Mann Link Travel and Richmond Travel we would not be able to continue with our work.”
Photo - Lesley Turnbull (front, left), founder of Wish Upon A Dream, accepts a cheque for £245 from Hollie Kelly (front, right), representing Mann Link Travel and Richmond Travel. Hollie is flanked by colleagues (back row, l-r) Louisa Teece, Sally Glover, Richard Simpson and Luisa Crabtree.
