Since 2010 Chimu Adventures has handed out over quarter of a million dollars in donations and micro financing to various charities and local communities in which it operates. These initiatives have been all encompassing, from projects as simple as loaning money to a local in Peru to help her buy a sewing machine and start her business, to operating charter voyages to Antarctica and forgoing a substantial portion of the profits to benefit not for profit organisations, such as the Mawson's Huts Foundation.

No matter how big or small these operations have been, they all carried their own risk, but the rewards for the beneficiaries, to date, have been substantial and worthwhile, as such, to leverage the successes of these initiatives Chimu Adventures have created a new brand to represent, administer and grow their philanthropic activities.

Make a Difference Project, or MAD project as it has been colloquially named, has been set up to principally support projects where the beneficiaries are given the tools or support to help them build a better future, for themselves, their communities and the planet. The MAD objective is to pass on knowledge and goods as well as funds to help build these projects. The aim is to empower local communities, helping them to develop their own infrastructure for the future.

'Make A Difference Project' is fully supported by Chimu Adventures meaning that no administration or marketing overheads will be taken from donations, and heading the project are Chimu Directors, Greg Carter and Chad Carey plus Chimu Adventure's Marketing Manager, Meg Hall.

“Operating tours and cruises in Latin American and Antarctic locations, we have witnessed first-hand many areas of need, from ecological sensitivities to poverty and homelessness, to name a few. We carry caring travellers on our journeys, it's not hard to feel a connection to a destination after you have either had a trip of a life time or spent a lot of time in the area. Said Chad Carey Chimu Adventures co-director.

“As such we plan to extend our work in this area under the brand of Make A Difference Project to support even more credible projects that our travellers can get involved in alongside us and work together to make a difference to the locations we operate in.” Said Carey.

Chimu Adventures are running a charter to Antarctica in early 2017 along with special guests Andrew Denton and Jennifer Byrne who are returning, for the second time, to support one of Chimu Adventures fundraisers to Antarctica. A portion of the profits from the voyage will be divided equally amongst the principle programs chosen by the MAD Project.  Already half full, berth sales begin at A$ 8790, more information can be found at http://www.chimuadventures.com/pureantarctica

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For further information, please contact:

Meg Hall PH: 02 9458 1215 E: meghall@chimuadventures.com

ABOUT MAKE A DIFFERENCE PROJECT

The 'Make A Difference' Project is a registered, not-for-profit organisation and was set up with facilitation in mind, a place where those who want to help make a difference to challenged communities, the environment and historical preservation can come and find reliable ways to contribute. All of our projects have been thoroughly researched for their ethical and moral outcomes. The MAD Project is supported by Chimu Adventures so that the project itself has no marketing or administrative overheads, every donation made is passed onto the projects it supports, in full.  For more information visit www.madproject.org Our mission is to help create a Make A Difference world and encourage people to act, not ignore.

ABOUT CHIMU ADVENTURES

Founded in 2004, Chimu Adventures is an Australian owned company offering fully flexible, guaranteed itineraries to Latin America, plus cruises to Antarctica. Catering to clients of all ages, Chimu's philosophy is simple, “use specialised knowledge to work with our clients, accommodating their individual needs at reasonable prices”.

Our team is committed to the destinations which we operate in and are proud members of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO),  the Council of Australian Tour Operators (CATO) and International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA).  For more information visit www.chimuadventures.com