Expressing appreciation for all the wonderful memories that the crew members created over the years, loyal Silversea passengers decided to give back and create a fundraiser for the ones who need it the most. This wonderful initiative is organized by Steve and Janet Randall, true philanthropists and Venetian Society members, to support the out-of-work Silversea crew and in particular the lowest paid. The response and donations from loyal cruisers from Team Silvrese are overwhelming, with generous contributions of many fans reaching $50,000 USD in just 5-days.
“What is unique about our decision to organize this is that we are initially directing all donations to what we will refer to as the faceless crew. These are the crew members we never see. Crew members like dishwashers and people who make under $1000 per month and have worked no more than 4-months in 2020. Our goal is to provide each crew member with $250. This group comprises over 200 crew members,” explains Mr. Randall in the fundraiser description.
The plan for the next phase is to expand the fundraiser to a second group that earned between $4000-$5000 in 2020, targeting the total group of 319 Silversea crew.
The fundraiser explains in detail how this financial aid will be distributed to the crew with the assistance of Silversea Cruises.
“Although this is a completely private fund-raising effort which has not been requested or organized by the company, we couldn't have done this without the support of Silversea Cruises and the Royal Caribbean Group, and in particular, Fernando Barroso de Oliveira, Silversea's President’s Ambassador to the Venetian Society and Heidi Wenger, Silversea's Director Fleet HR and Crewing. These individuals have committed to assist us in disbursing the funds raised to the crew.”
The latest update from Mr. Randall is that on Wednesday Silversea Cruises will start notifying the first group of crew earning less than $4000 that $250 support will start to be transferred.
To find out more details and how you can contribute to the Silversea Team fundraiser please visit “Support Our Silversea Crew – GoFundMe”
Each donation is much appreciated, by the crew and their families in need. NO DONATION IS TOO SMALL!
Photo Credit: Steve Randall
