#PlayMatters: JetBlue Customers, Crewmembers
and Local Communities Bring Play Back to Underserved Areas in
Boston, Los Angeles and New York
Over the Past 12 years, JetBlue and KaBOOM!
Have Partnered to Build 27 Playgrounds, Providing Safe Play Spaces
for More than 60,000 Children and Their Families
JetBlue (Nasdaq:JBLU) recently announced JetBlue For Good Month,
a month of kindness and good deeds taking place in November.
Throughout this month of philanthropy, the airline is bringing
customers and crewmembers on board to join in giving back. Nearly
300 crewmember volunteers have joined JetBlue and KaBOOM! to build
playgrounds in three of JetBlue’s focus cities, restoring play for
more than 2,200 children and their families in underserved areas in
Boston, Los Angeles, and New York. Over the past 12 years, JetBlue
and KaBOOM! have partnered to build 27 playgrounds, providing safe
play spaces for more than 60,000 children and their families.
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JetBlue crewmembers, in partnership with
KaBOOM!, bring play back to Richstone Family Center in Hawthorne,
CA.
JetBlue For Good focuses on three key pillars – youth and
education, community and the environment. Aligned with its
community pillar, JetBlue works with partners like KaBOOM! to
provide giving and volunteer opportunities that make a positive
impact where its customers and crewmembers work and live.
Volunteers assemble these playgrounds from start to finish in less
than six hours and the spaces are often designed by local
children.
Since 2005, JetBlue and KaBOOM! have worked together to fight
the deficit of play for children in underserved neighborhoods by
creating safe play spaces in cities throughout JetBlue’s network.
With the recent playground builds in JetBlue’s New York, Boston and
Los Angeles focus cities, 300 JetBlue volunteers have unloaded
three tractor trailers of supplies to build playgrounds utilizing
133,500 lbs (66.75 tons) of mulch and 53,700 lbs (or 26.85 tons) of
concrete.
“Play matters and is an important part of a child’s development.
It’s essential to the physical, creative, social and emotional
development of every child,” said Icema Gibbs, JetBlue’s director
of corporate social responsibility. “JetBlue gives back in a
variety of ways all year long. During JetBlue For Good Month, we’re
showcasing the volunteer work our customers and crewmembers do
every day to make a difference. These playgrounds are particularly
significant as they were all built during our month long
celebration of good.”
The #JetBlueForGood playground builds have included:
- Boston – BCYF Curley Community
Center – This playground build took place as a precursor to
JetBlue For Good month on October 26. The BCYF Curley Community
Center play space was outdated, worn out and no longer met the
needs of the Center’s youth programming. The new playground is
based on drawings from local children outlining what their dream
playground would look like and will provide a great, safe place to
play to more than 1,000 kids in Boston. This is the second BCYF
playground JetBlue has helped replace. In July 2016, BCYF Hyde Park
Community Center’s Hank Fuoco Tot Lot was replaced with brand new
equipment.JetBlue is the leading airline in Boston, serving as the
largest carrier in both number of flights and customers at Boston
Logan International Airport.
- Los Angeles – Richstone Family
Center – Richstone serves the community as a safe haven and is
dedicated to treating and preventing child abuse and trauma;
strengthening and educating families; and preventing violence in
families, schools and communities. The new JetBlue-funded
playground was built on November 1, the first day of JetBlue For
Good Month, and will serve as a great, safe place to play for more
than 800 local children and their families.Located in Hawthorne,
CA, the Richstone Family center is near Los Angeles
International Airport (LAX) where JetBlue offers up to 18 daily
Mint flights between LAX and New York, Boston and Fort Lauderdale.
The addition of Mint has helped JetBlue grow its brand in Los
Angeles, with the airline’s overall number of daily flights at LAX
doubling since 2014.
- New York City – New York City
Housing Authority (NYCHA) Pomonok Houses – On November 4,
twenty five JetBlue volunteers joined other community members and
volunteers to help rebuild this play space located in the airline’s
home borough - Queens, NY. The playground at Pomonok Houses was
last updated in the 1980s, leaving it out of use for a generation
of kids who currently travel across busy, traffic-filled streets to
access playgrounds in other parts of the community. This playground
is the first of dozens being built via the NextGen NYCHA Plays
partnership. Through this partnership, more children will have the
joyful childhood they deserve.JetBlue is New York’s Hometown
Airline® and the only major commercial airline based in New York
City and New York State.
“For over 10 years, JetBlue has been essential in helping us
bring great, safe places to play to the kids who need it most,”
said James Siegal, CEO of KaBOOM!. “We’re excited to see JetBlue
kicking off this month by providing thousands of kids across the
country with a place to learn, grow, explore and just be kids.”
Why Play You May Ask? – Play is a valuable element
important in a child’s development. In other words, #PlayMatters.
Today, kids aren’t playing enough—and the consequences are
devastating:
- The CDC advises parents to
encourage kids to get an hour per day of physical activity
- The American Academy of
Pediatrics recommends kids get enough exercise and also have an
hour per day to unwind, relax and have some simple creative play
time
- Researchers at the University of
Illinois determined 30 minutes of time in a park setting will
help children with ADHD be able to concentrate in the classroom and
act more calmly and with more focus at home
JetBlue is a longstanding partner of KaBOOM!, providing
long-term guidance and support to KaBOOM! and its mission to
promote and protect a child’s right to play.
Want to Join JetBlue During JetBlue For Good Month?
JetBlue is inviting customers to #CheckInForGood and enter to win a
complimentary trip to volunteer with some of the airline’s
non-profit partners (a). The winners will participate in trips
focusing on the three pillars of the JetBlue For Good platform:
youth and education, community and the environment.
JetBlue mock check-in kiosks will pop up in surprise locations
in New York City and Los Angeles from November 2 – 9, 2017. To
enter, entrants can fill out a short questionnaire about what
“good” they have to declare at one of the JetBlue kiosks, or online
at jetbluecheckinforgood.com through November 10. Based on
individual responses, entrants will be matched to causes aligning
with JetBlue For Good’s three key pillars and placed on “standby”
for an opportunity to win a seat on one of the following volunteer
trips departing around #GivingTuesday, the international day of
giving kicking off the holiday season.
JetBlue For Good is JetBlue’s platform for social impact
and corporate responsibility. Giving back is part of JetBlue’s DNA
and is core to its mission of inspiring humanity. Centered around
volunteerism and service, JetBlue For Good focuses on the areas
that are most important to the airline’s customers and crewmembers
- Community, Youth/Education and the Environment.
JetBlue’s core programs and partnerships directly impact the
areas where its customers and crewmembers live and work by
enhancing education and providing access to those that are
traditionally underserved. Signature programs include the
award-winning Soar with Reading initiative which has provided more
than $2.75 million worth of books to kids who need them most; Blue
Horizons For Autism which helps introduce air travel in a realistic
environment to families and children affected by autism; and Swing
For Good which raises funds for education and youth focused
non-profits. Join the #JetBlueForGood conversation on Twitter,
Instagram and Facebook, check for regular updates and get
involved.
About JetBlue
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline®, and a leading carrier
in Boston, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach),
Orlando, and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 38 million
customers a year to 101 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin
America with an average of 1,000 daily flights. For more
information, please visit www.jetblue.com.
About KaBOOM!
KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids
– particularly those growing up in poverty in America – the
childhood they deserve filled with balanced and active play, so
they can thrive. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners
to build, open, or improve more than 16,700 playgrounds, engaged
more than one million volunteers, and served 8.5 million kids.
KaBOOM! creates great places to play, inspires communities to
promote and support play, and works to drive the national
discussion about the importance of play in fostering healthy and
productive lives. To learn why #playmatters and why cities are
embracing #playability: visit kaboom.org or join the
conversation at twitter.com/kaboom or
facebook.com/kaboom.
(a.) No purchase necessary. Must be 18 years of age or older.
Registration ends 11:59:59pm PT on 11/10/2017. Open to legal
residents of the United States and the District of Columbia. All
volunteers must accept the official rules and JetBlue's privacy
policy. Review the JetBlue Check In For Good contest Official
Rules, and the terms of the JetBlue Privacy Policy.
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