Delta Celebrates 12th Global Build with Habitat for Humanity International in Mexico

66 volunteers, including Delta and Aeroméxico employees, retirees and customers, will help build six homes in Merida, Mexico

News provided by

Delta Air Lines

Mar 15, 2016, 09:15 ET

ATLANTA and MERIDA, Mexico, March 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) is celebrating its 12th Global Build with Habitat for Humanity International by helping build six homes in the Chicxulub neighborhood of Merida, Mexico this week. Sixty-six volunteers will participate in the build which runs March 14 - 18.

The 2016 Delta Global Build volunteers include 46 Delta employees, representing 20 stations in five countries, two SkyMiles customers, two Delta retirees and 16 employees from Delta's alliance partner Aeroméxico.

Delta celebrates 12th Global Build with Habitat for Humanity International in Mexico.

"We are so proud of our longstanding partnership with Habitat for Humanity International, as our employees continue to volunteer their time and talent to impact communities across the globe," said Tad Hutcheson, Delta's Managing Director of Community Affairs. "These employees, along with our colleagues from Aeroméxico and two dedicated customers, truly embody the Delta difference."

The build will also highlight two milestones for Delta – the 10th anniversary of employees participating in Delta Global Builds, the first taking place in 2006 in South Africa, and the 20th anniversary of Chairman's Club, the airline's most prestigious honor, in November. Each year, Chairman's Club recognizes employees who embody Delta values and who distinguish themselves with their exceptional service to customers and the community. In celebration of both anniversaries, the Delta employees participating in this year's build are all Chairman's Club honorees.

The joint Delta and Aeroméxico team will work alongside future Habitat homeowners in Chicxulub to build the walls of six houses. Volunteers will help with the early stages of the house construction, including building the foundation, bathroom, kitchen facilities and two rooms. Habitat for Humanity Mexico will provide training and guidance to the families so that they can complete their new home with help from local volunteers, architects and engineers.

"Delta and Aeroméxico's teams have been working alongside one another for 22 years, and we are excited to now have the opportunity for our Aeroméxico colleagues to join us for a Delta Global Build," said Carlos E. Hernandez, Delta's Director in Mexico. "Delta and Aeroméxico both share a commitment to serving others, and this build allows us to put those thoughts into action as servant leaders to benefit the local community in Merida."

For the sixth consecutive year, Delta volunteers are also joined by a SkyMiles customer who bid for the opportunity to participate through Delta's SkyMiles Experiences online auction. Diamond Medallion member Jarrett Goetz won the experience with a bid of 311,000 miles, and is joined by his guest Renee Ricciardi.

"We are grateful for Delta's commitment to help families around the world build strength, stability and self-reliance through a place they can call home," said Colleen Finn Ridenhour, deputy director of Corporate, Foundation and Institutional Relations at Habitat for Humanity International. "We appreciate the generosity of the Delta and Aeroméxico employees as they work alongside families in need of decent, affordable housing."

Delta employees have helped build or rehab 221 Habitat homes in 12 countries around the world. The homes in Mexico will mark Delta's 222 through 227 home builds in partnership with Habitat. Employees have previously participated in Delta Global Builds in Argentina, Chile, China, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, India, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa and Thailand.

Delta and Aeroméxico collectively offer 103 codeshare destinations that represent over 900 daily flights in six countries.

About Habitat for Humanity International
Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity has grown from a grassroots effort that began on a community farm in southern Georgia in 1976 to a global nonprofit housing organization in nearly 1,400 communities across the U.S. and in over 70 countries. People partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering, or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.

About Delta
Delta Air Lines serves nearly 180 million customers each year. In 2016, Delta was named to Fortune's top 50 Most Admired Companies in addition to being named the most admired airline for the fifth time in six years. Additionally, Delta has ranked No.1 in the Business Travel News Annual Airline survey for an unprecedented five consecutive years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 327 destinations in 57 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 800 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 joint venture with Virgin Atlantic. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with key hubs and markets including Amsterdam, Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis/St. Paul, New York-JFK and LaGuardia, London-Heathrow, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City, Seattle and Tokyo-Narita. Delta has invested billions of dollars in airport facilities, global products and services, and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on the Delta News Hub, as well as delta.com, Twitter @DeltaNewsHub, Google.com/+Delta, Facebook.com/delta and Delta's blog takingoff.delta.com.