ATLANTA, May 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) will hold more than 100 fundraising events next week as part of its partnership with the American Cancer Society with a new goal to generate $1.3 million to support research and other endeavors to end cancer.
On May 8, Delta employees will observe the fifth annual Delta Day of Hope, modeled after Relay For Life, the American Cancer Society's signature fundraising event. Day of Hope events will be held on this day at more than 100 airports around the globe with Delta service including its hubs in Atlanta, New York, Detroit and Minneapolis as well as London-Heathrow, Rome, Tokyo and Sydney.
"Delta's culture of winning together doesn't end at taking care of our customers with the excellent service they deserve every day as a global airline," said Gil West, Delta's executive vice president and chief operating officer. "It continues by giving back meaningfully to the communities we're privileged to serve to combat cancer, a disease that has touched us all."
At Delta's Technical Operations Center in Atlanta on May 9, Delta employees will compete in a Jet Drag event that will challenge dozens of teams to pull a Boeing 757 aircraft 20 feet in the fastest time. Events will culminate that afternoon with a large Relay For Life event at Delta's general offices in Atlanta.
"Cancer is the leading cause of death from illness in the U.S. workforce, and it creates one of the greatest economic burdens of all leading causes of death worldwide," said American Cancer Society Chief Executive Officer John Seffrin, Ph.D. "The generosity and ongoing support of Delta Air Lines have a direct impact on the Society's ability to ensure that lifesaving cancer research continues to get funded, people facing cancer get the help they need, and our efforts are amplified so we can make this cancer's last century."
The American Cancer Society recognized Delta with its Distinguished Corporate Achievement award for its fundraising efforts in the fight to end cancer in 2012, and the company was awarded the prestigious Pinnacle Award for raising more than $1 million in 2013. Also this year, Delta is expanding its support to include a public online auction to launch in August and will participate in American Cancer Society gala events.
American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society is a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers saving lives and fighting for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. As the largest voluntary health organization, the Society's efforts have contributed to a 20 percent decline in cancer death rates in the U.S. since 1991, and a 50 percent drop in smoking rates. Thanks to our progress, nearly 14 million Americans who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will celebrate more birthdays this year. As we mark our 100th birthday in 2013, we're determined to finish the fight against cancer. We're finding cures as the nation's largest private, not-for-profit investor in cancer research, ensuring people facing cancer have the help they need and continuing the fight for access to quality health care, lifesaving screenings, clean air, and more. For more information, to get help, or to join the fight, call us anytime, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines serves nearly 165 million customers each year. This year, Delta was named the 2014 Airline of the Year by Air Transport World magazine and was named to FORTUNE magazine's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the third time in four years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 322 destinations in 59 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia as well as a newly formed joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, New York-LaGuardia, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.
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SOURCE Delta Air Lines