A TRAVEL agency has launched a new charity initiative – pledging to donate up to ten per cent of each holiday booked to good causes and £250 for every single person it sends off to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.

Over the coming weeks, Footloose Adventure Travel, based in Ilkley, will be collating a panel of charities which will feature on its website for holiday-makers to choose from.

The company will then donate five per cent of the cost of all brochure holidays booked, and ten per cent of the cost of all tailor-made trips (excluding flights) to the travellers’ charity of choice.

Footloose travel expert Susanne Muskita said: “Our research suggests that people are still keen to donate to good causes but with tight budgets and the cost of living going up, finding the available cash can be tricky.

“We are now making a firm commitment to make a substantial donation to charity each time someone books with us. Of course, that is on top of the personal service and tailor-made holidays we already offer and which we have become known for.”

First on Footloose’s panel of charities is Keighley-based Yorkshire Cat Rescue, which finds new homes for around 700 of the region’s unwanted cats and kittens each year.

Sara Atkinson, who founded the charity back in 1992, said: “This is an amazing initiative and one which could help us raise much needed funds to care for an ever growing number of homeless cats and kittens.

“If just ten people booked their holiday with Footloose and nominated us, that could mean an amazing £2,000 donation, or more, to Yorkshire Cat Rescue – and that without lifting a finger.

“This year looks set to be another record for us in terms of cats saved and, as a result, we are struggling to make ends meet.

"So it is with all my heart that I want to encourage people planning their holidays for 2015 to consider Footloose.

“Not only will they get great service and a completely customised holiday, they could save the lives of several cats in the process.”

On top of custom-made holidays to some of the most exciting and exotic corners of the world, Footloose specialises in organising guided climbs to the top of Africa’s highest mountain, Kilimanjaro.

Charities wishing to join the panel should email info@footloose.co.uk or visit www.footlooseadventure.co.uk.