Delta volunteers build 10 houses with Habitat for Humanity in the Dominican Republic
More than 50 employees volunteer for Delta’s “Force for Global Good” in the Haina community
ATLANTA, April 25, 2012 – Delta Air Lines and Habitat for Humanity join forces again to help build 10 Habitat houses in the town of Haina, a community located roughly 30 minutes from the Dominican Republic’s capital of Santo Domingo. This effort is part of Delta’s Force for Global Good program, an initiative aimed to create positive local and global change.
More than 50 Delta employees will build structurally safe homes made of concrete in Haina, replacing makeshift homes made of wood, palm trees and discarded materials, as well as dirt floors, structurally unsound walls and roofs made of rusty, corrugated tin sheets.
“We are privileged to be able to support communities in need,” said Maria Fernanda Price, sales manager for Delta Central America and the Caribbean. “Helping families in Haina improve their living conditions is pertinent to Delta, as this community already suffers from high poverty levels and one of the worst pollution cases in the world.”
Delta volunteers will be joined by Daniel Dixon from Glastonbury, CT, a Delta Platinum SkyMiles member who bid 325,000 miles in an online auction to win the opportunity to participate in the build. The miles will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. Daniel will be joined on this trip by his daughter Caroline.
“Delta’s donations and volunteers will help improve the living conditions of many in Haina and provide critical support to Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic’s ongoing efforts aimed to serve more than 100 families in the region,” said Cesarina Fabián, executive director of Habitat for Humanity Dominican Republic.
This will be the third time Delta volunteers and Habitat for Humanity have worked together in Latin America. In 2008, Delta volunteers built 12 houses in Casablanca, Chile and, following the Feb. 27, 2010 earthquake, Delta volunteers built 15 houses in El Monte, Chile.
Additionally, this is Delta’s ninth international build with Habitat for Humanity. As part of the program, Delta employees from around the globe use vacation time and also pay a portion of their own expenses to volunteer on the international builds to help those in need of simple, decent and affordable housing. They also use this opportunity to become personally acquainted with the country and its culture. Delta has been involved in similar projects in South Africa, Ghana, India, Thailand and China. Within the United States, Delta’s volunteers have built houses in California, Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, Ohio and Tennessee.
Delta has supported Habitat for Humanity for more than 20 years and strengthened the partnership in 2006 by becoming a national partner and unveiling the first 767-300 featuring a unique Habitat for Humanity livery and a Delta “Force for Global Good” decal.
About Habitat for Humanity International
Habitat for Humanity International is a global nonprofit Christian housing organization that seeks to put God’s love into action by bringing people together to build homes, communities and hope. Since 1976, Habitat has served more than 500,000 families by welcoming people of all races, religions and nationalities to construct, rehabilitate or preserve homes; by advocating for fair and just housing policies; and by providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. For more information, to donate or to volunteer, please visit www.habitat.org, or follow us at www.facebook.com/habitat or at www.twitter.com/habitat_org or join Habitat’s blog community at www.habitat.org/blog.
About Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines is working towards becoming the best U.S. carrier in Latin America and the Caribbean. As part of that goal Delta has established a long-term exclusive alliance with GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes, investing more than US 100 million in GOL. Likewise, Delta has invested more than US 65 million in Aeroméxico as part of a long-term exclusive commercial alliance and entered a code sharing agreement with Aerolíneas Argentinas solidifying its footprint in Latin America. Delta provides service in Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, reaching out to 32 countries and 54 destinations in the region and offering more than 1,000 weekly flights between Latin America and the U.S. Spanish-speaking Delta customers can receive assistance in Spanish through its Twitter channel @DeltaAssist_ES, providing real-time, on-the-go travel assistance from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. EST.
Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. During the past year, Delta was named domestic “Airline of the Year” by the readers of Travel Weekly magazine, was named the “Top Tech-Friendly U.S. Airline” by PCWorld magazine for its innovation in technology and won the Business Travel News Annual Airline Survey. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to nearly 350 destinations in 62 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. A founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance, Delta participates in the industry’s leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 13,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. The airline’s service includes the SkyMiles frequent flier program, a world-class airline loyalty program; the award-winning BusinessElite service; and more than 50 Delta Sky Clubs in airports worldwide. Delta is investing more than 2 billion through 2013 in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and review flight status at delta.com.