JetBlue Observes National Day of Service with Seventh Annual "Light Up A Life" Campaign

NEW YORK, Jan. 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- JetBlue Airways (Nasdaq: JBLU) today announced the launch of its seventh annual "Light Up A Life" campaign. In observance of National Day of Service, the airline is encouraging crewmembers across its 75 city network to make a positive impact in their local communities through volunteer service. This year's "Light Up A Life" campaign will provide resources and support to children in foster care in partnership with Together We Rise (TWR), a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children in the foster care system.

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During January and February, JetBlue crewmembers will decorate and deliver close to 2,000 "Sweet Cases" with TWR. "Sweet Cases" are decorative suit cases and duffle bags filled with stuffed animals, coloring books, hygiene kits and other items. Foster children are often forced to move with a moment's notice and many times are only provided with a trash bag for their belongings. JetBlue partnered with the TWR to donate personally designed "Sweet Cases" to children ages 4-10.

"At JetBlue volunteering is part of our daily lives.  National Day of Service reminds us to give back in meaningful ways and we encourage our crewmembers to volunteer in their local communities. We'll do our part this week by delivering 'Sweet Cases' to Graham Windham child welfare agency in the Bronx," said Icema Gibbs, JetBlue's director of corporate social responsibility. "We decided to partner with Together We Rise supporting two areas that are important to us - youth and the community. Crewmembers throughout JetBlue are volunteering their personal time to decorate and deliver 'Sweet Cases' as a way to lift the spirits of children navigating their way through the foster care system."

TWR's mission is to improve the lives of foster children in the U.S. This organization is comprised of a staff of passionate volunteers who tirelessly work to make a difference in the lives of underprivileged children. TWR delivers a sense of normalcy to them by furnishing basic needs and offering support through counseling and mentoring programs.

"On average children in the foster care system receive three different placements during their youth and are moved with little or no notice. These children are often forced to pack their belongings in trash bags. We created 'Sweet Cases' to provide these children with suit cases of their very own," said Danny Mendoza, Together We Rise's president and chief executive officer. "We are excited about our partnership with JetBlue. The foster care system can be a confusing and sometimes disheartening place, but simple things such as a suitcase for their belongings can provide a child with a small sense of normalcy and really help their self-esteem."

JetBlue displays its "Caring" and "Passion" values by encouraging crewmembers to volunteer every day through its 'Community Connection' program. This volunteerism platform acknowledges and rewards the airline's 14,000 crewmembers for their community service both as individuals and as teams. For every 25 hours a crewmember volunteers, the airline donates one roundtrip flight to the non-profit organization of the crewmember's choice. Some volunteers have amassed more than 500 volunteer hours for causes including Making Strides for Breast Cancer, Charles River Center for Autism and KaBOOM!.

About JetBlue Corporate Social Responsibility
At JetBlue Airways, our commitment to corporate social responsibility goes beyond raising cause awareness.  We are dedicated to developing impactful charitable partnerships, supporting and aligning ourselves with the communities in the cities we serve, and creating significant volunteer experiences for our crewmembers.  Our focus is to create programs and opportunities and fully engage our resources to connect with our communities within the areas of Youth & Education, Community, and the Environment. In addition, we align our efforts to reflect the diverse interests and core values of our business by striving to enrich the lives of others.  Moving forward, we will sustain JetBlue's charitable efforts through continuous support and unique programs that help promote positive social and environmental change. 

About JetBlue Airways
JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline™ with other focus cities in Boston, Fort Lauderdale, Los Angeles (Long Beach), San Juan and Orlando. Known for its award-winning service and free inflight entertainment as much as its low fares JetBlue offers the most legroom in coach of any U.S. airline (based on average fleet-wide seat pitch) as well as super-spacious Even More Space seats. JetBlue is also America's first and only airline to offer its own Customer Bill of Rights, with meaningful and specific compensation for customers inconvenienced by service disruptions within JetBlue's control. Visit www.jetblue.com/promise for details. JetBlue serves 75 cities with 750 daily flights and plans to launch service to Charleston, S.C., Albuquerque, New Mexico, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Medellin Colombia (subject to receipt of government operating authority) in 2013. With JetBlue, all seats are assigned, all fares are one-way, and an overnight stay is never required. For information call 1-800-538-2583 (TTY/TDD 1-800-336-5530) or visit www.jetblue.com.

SOURCE JetBlue Airways

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