Best Loved Hotels Supporting Just a Drop

Best Loved Hotels Chairman, Richard Tobias, has been a loyal supporter and champion of international water aid charity, Just a Drop, since its inception in 1998.

The charity was set up by Fiona Jeffery OBE who felt that it was time to use her position within the Travel and Tourism sector as Director of World Travel Market to give something back to communities around the world.

“I wanted to find something which was both global in its reach and impacted children and families. I felt that businesses should be encouraged to do more than just be successful in business and add value in other ways”, she says.

At the time, Richard was the Chairman of UK Inbound (formerly the British Incoming Tour Operators Association or BITOA) and he was instrumental in helping to establish Just a Drop as a charity within the Travel and Tourism industry – thus helping Fiona to realise her vision. Not only did he play an active role as a Trustee of the charity, he also chaired a fundraising committee and raised vital funds through BITOA’s annual gala dinner.

16 years on, Just a Drop carries out projects which support children and their families with clean water and sanitation solutions across three continents, from Afghanistan to Zambia.

What’s more, Richard’s commitment to the charity has continued apace. Since retiring as Trustee in 2011, he is now a valued patron of Just a Drop and we are delighted that he has been able to help the charity in his role as Chairman of Best Loved Hotels – most notably, by donating some unique and special hotel breaks throughout the UK.

Fiona says, “Richard’s contribution and input played a huge part in establishing Just a Drop as a recognised charity within the Travel and Tourism industry. The contribution he’s made over the years is phenomenal and we continue to appreciate everything he does for the charity as it grows and transforms lives.”

Richard says, “As a founder Trustee of Just a Drop I am proud to have played a small part in raising funds much needed for the provision of clean water and sanitation processes for many thousands of people in emerging nations. Best Loved Hotels will continue to support the fantastic work undertaken by the Just a Drop team”.

About Just a Drop

Just a Drop’s aim is to address the shocking statistic that a child dies every 20 seconds from a water-related disease. The charity:

Works with local partners, at a grassroots level, to provide clean water and sanitation facilities to some of the poorest communities around the world through the construction of wells, boreholes, pipelines, hand pumps and latrines and health and sanitation programmes

Operates with a handful of full-time staff and an army of volunteers, many of whom are retired military officers and water engineers with extensive experience on global water development projects

20 Seconds Appeal

This month, we are thrilled to have the support of Best Loved Hotels in launching our appeal to encourage people to donate to Just a Drop and help stop children dying from drinking dirty water.

The charity is working hard to prevent the daily tragedy that a simple drink of water can claim the life of a child in a developing country every 20 seconds – that’s more children under the age of five years dying from this than from malaria, measles and HIV/AIDS combined. Unfortunately, for many of these children, the lack of a clean water supply leaves them with no choice. They must take their chances.

Choosing to donate to Just a Drop’s appeal will help stop these needless deaths and will support the charity’s water projects that have so far touched the lives of an estimated 1.5 million people in over 30 countries.

We hope that you will be inspired to help us make clean water more than just a pipe dream for many more people in the years to come.

Please support Just a Drop’s appeal and visit www.justadrop.org