Last week I had the good fortune of joining World Vision Australia CEO Tim Costello in a panel discussion about transforming businesses and communities.

By virtue of Jetstar’s partnership with World Vision in our StarKids program, I’ve been lucky enough to develop a friendship with Tim over the past few years.

Through StarKids we’ve both come to realise our respective organisations, different as they may be, share common values.

Together, our organisations are improving the lives of thousands of people living in communities less fortunate than our own.

Over the past six years we’ve managed to raise more than $2 million for StarKids thanks to the generous support of our customers, team members and business partners.

These funds help World Vision Australia deliver important community development projects in eight of the countries Jetstar flies to.

I’ve always been a great advocate of partnerships as they offer the opportunity to draw on a deeper pool of knowledge, broader capabilities, expertise and market reach.

Our expertise is delivering low fares and we allow customers to travel more often, to more places than ever before.

World Vision’s is transformational development that improves the lives of people living in the world’s poorest communities.

We understand the responsibility we have to the communities in which we operate in.

While the benefits of tourism in underdeveloped communities are well documented, we realise they can only spread so far.

By drawing on World Vision’s expertise, we can also play a part in transforming the lives of those who don’t share in the benefits of the tourism dollars we help bring to a country.

When I travel many of our customers share stories of their amazing overseas adventures and the bonds they’ve forged with people in the communities our StarKids program supports.

It is these customers, having felt a strong sense of gratitude for all they have back at home, who I’ve always found to be the most generous.

I’m so proud of StarKids and all we have achieved together.

Thanks for all your support,

David Hall 
Jetstar Australia and New Zealand CEO