TORONTO — Close to 120 Canadian travel professionals came out for a great day at Glen Abbey Golf Course in Oakville on Friday to support a foundation dear to their hearts: The YellowBird Foundation.

The tournament raised an estimated $50,000 (final amount to be published June 15) to help schools damaged by the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean, in an effort graciously sponsored by WestJet and WestJet Vacations.

It was a fun day of golfing, prizes, lunch and auctions, and this year even included a spa bus for those less interested in golfing.

Everyone played well, but the golfing prizes went to:

. Men’s Winner: Michael Price, Jean Lafreniere, Michael Bird, Brett Wilson
. Men’s Runner-Up: Dan Langevin, Duncan Bureau, Brian Robertson, JC Girard

. Mixed Winner: Jennifer Waver, Paul Poulin, Karen Salviato, Aaron Payne
. Mixed Runner-Up: John Pease, Zul Shaikhali, Morgan Bell, Jim Morrison

. Longest Drive #1: Devin Kinasz and Dave Thompson
. Closest to hole #7: Morgan Bell and John Pease
. Closest to hole #15: Morgan Bell and Aaron Payne

Since its inception in 2005, The YellowBird Foundation has donated nearly $500,000 to educational initiatives in the Caribbean and Latin America, largely from money raised at this annual golf tournament.

“As you know, some people in the Caribbean are living in poverty and the benefits of tourism do not reach them,” says Gerry Kinasz, a founder of The YellowBird Foundation and Publisher of Travelweek.  “I hope the projects we support will give children the opportunity to grow and that they will understand that there are people in the world who really want to help and see them succeed.”

This year The YellowBird Foundation helped rebuild an elementary school in the Turks and Caicos. The school teaches 586 students between the ages of three and 11 and the impact from the hurricanes a few months ago caused major damage to the school structure and several classes were closed. Please watch the video below.

“The YellowBird Foundation does really great things for children and education in the Caribbean, and the projects they support change every year. We support a lot of charity events at WestJet, but it is especially important to get involved in projects in a destination to which we fly,” says Jane Clementino, Director of Agency Sales, WestJet.

The YellowBird Foundation and WestJet thank all the participants and look forward to welcoming everyone again next year.