JetBlue Airways Brings Its "Inspiring Humanity" Mission to Life
With a Humanitarian Effort to Haiti
Crewmembers Deliver Much-Needed Supplies and Medication, Provide
Local Schools and Orphanages With More Than 2,000 Books and
Laptops
NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired
- April 18, 2014) - JetBlue Airways (NASDAQ: JBLU) brought its "Inspiring Humanity"
mission to life on April 16 and 17 with a crewmember-led
humanitarian effort to Haiti.
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, became JetBlue's 82nd BlueCity in
December 2013. Before launch it was decided the airline would carry
out a humanitarian delivery flight in partnership with the Airbus
Corporate Foundation to bring aid to the country, including
life-saving anti-cholera medication, blankets and clothing for
nearly 6,000 children, hundreds of pair of shoes, thousands of
books to help improve literacy, laptops, toiletries and more.
Additionally, the JetBlue contingent also made the first dig for a
modernized fresh water well in what will become a new village for
Haitians still displaced following the 2010 earthquake. Haiti
remains the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere and continues
to be deeply affected by the earthquake. The cholera outbreak
following the earthquake is the worst epidemic of this disease in
recent times, having caused more than 9,000 deaths and with 700,000
residents currently sick.
JetBlue provided several tons of resources to local schools and
orphanages in and near Port-au-Prince. The group visited and
delivered supplies to charities that have previously been supported
by crewmembers, including Ecole Herve Romain, a school in
Port-au-Prince's red zone run by charity organization Edeyo
Foundation; Children of Hope, a children's home in Saintard, north
of Port-au-Prince and Grace International, one of Haiti's largest
non-profit organizations that runs numerous schools, displacement
camps, girls and boys orphanages, a widows home and
hospital. The airline provided donations, including more than
2,000 books, toiletries and laptops, which were handed out by a
team of 15 front-line crewmembers. The crewmembers also broke
ground on a new well for fresh drinking water for Grace
International in Carrefour. This area is currently under
development, building an entire new village that will house tens of
thousands of people still displaced from the earthquake.
"I volunteered at Grace International and visited its Lambi
Village refugee camp several times on service missions. JetBlue
heard of my experiences and decided to partner with the agency to
provide relief to residents still impacted by the earthquake. It
was so heartwarming to see our crewmembers break ground on the site
where a water well will be built. This well will provide fresh
water not only to the future residents of the village, but also the
local community impacting thousands of Haitians," said LaToya
Ingram, manager of talent management, JetBlue Airways.
Allison Miguel, general manager of JetBlue's Savannah/Hilton
Head operation, has also volunteered extensively in Haiti.
"Children of Hope is very near and dear to my heart. I helped set
up our operation in Haiti prior to launch and spent every free
minute I had with these children. I look forward to being a part of
their lives for as long as possible. I'm so proud to work for a
company that is providing much needed resources to Haitian children
and supports causes that are important to me and fellow
crewmembers."
As education is a core pillar of JetBlue's corporate social
responsibility platform, JetBlue also donated 2,000 books in
English and Haitian Creole to local schools and children's homes.
Additionally, JetBlue inflight crewmember Victoria Lauture shared a
collection of books written by her mother, author Mireille B.
Lauture Ph.D, featuring stories passed down from her 93-year-old
grandmother who is known for her descriptive storytelling. These
five books, written in Haitian Creole and English on the same page,
were donated by Mirelle and will help encourage literacy in Haiti.
Victoria and Mireille joined the team to deliver these bi-lingual
books to local children. JetBlue also donated laptops with one year
of internet service generously provided by Digicel.
With a new Airbus A321 aircraft scheduled for delivery on April
17, JetBlue took this opportunity to use the plane to support the
ongoing commitment of crewmembers to help in Haiti's revitalization
efforts. JetBlue partnered with the Airbus Corporate Foundation,
Wings of Help (Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen) and KPMG to fill this
aircraft with several tons of supplies specially earmarked for
International Medical Corp for this relief effort. Wings of Help
sourced life-saving anti-cholera medication, blankets, bed sheets,
shoes, t-shirts and children's toys. The plane was then routed to
fly from the Airbus factory in Hamburg, Germany, to Port-au-Prince,
Haiti before heading to the JetBlue Hangar in Orlando, Fla. For
more about Wings of Help/Luftfahrt ohne Grenzen, please visit
www.luftfahrtohnegrenzen.eu/en.
"This is a live example of corporate citizenship in action,
truly neighbors helping neighbors," said Icema Gibbs, director of
corporate social responsibility, JetBlue Airways. "For this relief
effort, we utilized the airline's two most important assets -- our
people and our aircraft. We rallied together with Wings of Help and
other business partners to donate supplies and materials and our
crewmembers gave their personal time to provide service directly to
one of our communities that is most in need of resources."
JetBlue will continue to support Haiti and rebuilding efforts by
providing a donation of $10,000 to relief organizations, including
Grace International and Edeyo Foundation. The airline encourages
customers who want to help to visit www.Edeyo.org or
www.GraceIntl.org to join us in donating to these worthy
causes.
JetBlue believes it has a corporate responsibility to providing
excellent service both on the air and on the ground. As a
responsible corporate citizen, JetBlue works with a variety of
nonprofit partners to make a difference in the communities it
serves. This commitment to inspire humanity is how the airline
conducts business every day. JetBlue works hand-in-hand with local,
national and global organizations, connecting communities within
its areas of commitment: youth and education; community and the
environment.
Original b-roll, photos and interviews are available. Contact
JetBlue at (718) 709-3089, or corpcomm@jetblue.com for more
information.
About JetBlue AirwaysJetBlue 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 30 million customers a year to 85
cities in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin
America, with an average of 825 daily flights. JetBlue was the
first U.S. airline to allow customers to use their personal
electronic devices throughout all domestic flights.
With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way,
and an overnight stay is never required. For more information
please visit JetBlue.com.
PHOTO CAPTIONS: JetBlue Airways recently brought its inspiring
humanity mission to life with a crewmember-led humanitarian effort,
including using its fresh-from-the factory Airbus A321aircraft to
deliver several tons of supplies to Haiti. A team of 15 crewmembers
delivered resources, including life-saving anti-cholera medication,
blankets, clothing for nearly 6,000 children, hundreds of pairs of
shoes, 2,000 books and more. (Photos courtesy of JetBlue
Airways)
1. (l to r) At Toussaint Louverture International Airport in
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, JetBlue crewmembers Allison Miguel and
Jessica Banchs helped unload supplies from the airline's new Airbus
A321 aircraft for donation to local schools and orphanages. 2. (l
to r) Chad Meyerson, director, Latin America and Caribbean,
JetBlue; Elsy Viala, general manager of JetBlue's Port-au-Prince
operation; Bishop Joel Jeune, founder, Grace International and
Icema Gibbs, director, corporate social responsibility, JetBlue,
break ground on a new, modernized fresh water well in a new village
currently under development in Carrefour being built for Haitians
still displaced following the 2010 earthquake. 3. Author Dr.
Mireille B. Lauture reads to students at Edeyo Foundation's Ecole
Herve Romain located in Port-au-Prince's red zone. 4. A team of
JetBlue crewmembers pitch in to unload several tons of resources
earmarked for schools and orphanages in and near
Port-au-Prince.
Image Available:
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Image Available:
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MEDIA CONTACTS JetBlue Corporate Communications Tel: +1 718 709
3089 corpcomm@jetblue.com
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