A strong commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) underpins the inaugural Virtual Travel Retail Expo. Three key CSR initiatives will benefit from the event.

The Moodie Davitt Report is to fund a life-changing children’s cleft operation performed by international charity Smile Train for every exhibitor at the Expo.

Smile Train has supported over 1.5 million cleft surgeries since 1999. Every five minutes Smile Train-supported cleft treatment helps a child in need. Some 200,000 babies are born every year with cleft lips and/or palates. US$250 funds the cost of the 45-minute cleft surgery that transforms the life of a child – and that of his or her family.

Smile Train is a cause that we and the travel retail community know well. It was the beneficiary of the ‘Turning Tears into Smiles’ fund-raising dinner organised by The Moodie Davitt Report and Hugo Boss in Hong Kong in 2007; and of the hugely successful ‘Miles for Smiles’ fun runs in Dubai in 2008 and 2009. Incredibly, the three events raised around US$2.2 million for Smile Train, including, famously, a US$1.5 million donation by the Dubai Duty Free Foundation to assist the charity’s work in the Philippines – support by the retailer that continues to this day.

Underlining the Virtual Travel Retail Expo’s CSR and eco-friendly credentials (no travel involved, no shipping, no stand construction or breakdown and zero carbon footprint), The Moodie Davitt Report will also be making a substantial donation to The Trinity Forest Project – a tree-planting initiative we unveiled at The Trinity Forum in Doha last October, powered by One Tree Planted, a 501©(3) non- profit organisation.

One visitor = one tree. That is the simple formula being adopted for the event, an initiative announced to mark World Environment Day on 5 June.

The social contribution does not stop there.  FILTR, our partner in curating the Virtual Expo, has pledged to donate 5% of all design fees from the event to ImpactHK – the 2020 nominated charity of Women in Travel Retail (WiTR).

ImpactHK supports the homeless in Hong Kong with a particular focus on women and the aged. Women on the streets, as in many other cities, are particularly vulnerable and susceptible to abuse and attack.

Martin Moodie
Founder & Chairman
The Moodie Davitt Report
Martin@MoodieDavittReport.com

The Moodie Davitt Report Founder & Chairman Martin Moodie said: “This is a different kind of Expo to anything previously seen in the travel retail world and it must be anchored by critical Corporate Social Responsibility values. I am particularly excited to restart our association with Smile Train, a cause I know very well from earlier years. Having visited Smile Train clinics in India and the Philippines, I know what a transformative impact their work has.

“As the COVID-19 crisis rages, charities such as Smile Train are suffering and the flow of donations slowing. Yet every day children are born with cleft conditions that can be easily treated in infancy, thus avoiding years of stigma.

“We’re also pleased to advance our Trinity Forest Project, unveiled in Doha last year. The combination of a zero-carbon footprint event and a significant contribution to a tree-planting initiative underlines our determination to help shape a more eco-friendly world. And, through our partners FILTR and their chosen cause, ImpactHK, to address the pressing issue of homelessness.”