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Southwest Airlines Community

BeCAUSE We Care

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ER Team and Friends July 30 Volunteer
Emergency Response Team and Friends, July 30th Volunteer Day

They say that one flame can light a thousand candles.  It can start with one person’s passion, and in turn, have a ripple effect for the greater cause.  For three decades, Employees of Southwest Airlines have supported Community Partners of Dallas (CPD).  CPD supports Child Protective Services caseworkers in providing basic necessities, like school supplies, to abused and neglected children.

Earlier this month, Employees from Communication & Outreach volunteered at CPD’s back-to-school drive, loading caseworkers’ cars with school supplies to distribute.  Though the humid, rainy weather was not ideal, Employees served with smiles on their faces. Supporting CPD is a cause near and dear to Dora Villarreal, Sr. Coordinator, Culture & Communications.  Dora has been involved with CPD’s back-to-school drive for 17 years.  Her passion is serving kids, but it is the organization that brings her back year after year.  During that time, she’s seen CPD grow into an organization that truly fits the size of their big hearts, thanks to fundraising and tireless hours of labor.  Southwest fuels her passion by enabling Employees to serve alongside their fellow Cohearts, even earning tickets for the nonprofit through Tickets for Time.  For every 40 hours one or more of our Employees volunteer for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, the benefiting organization is eligible to receive one complimentary, roundtrip ticket on Southwest Airlines for fundraising or transportation needs.  Through this program, a charitable organization can receive up to six tickets in a calendar year. In addition to back-to-school drives, Southwest has supported CPD through coat drives, assembling Easter baskets, toy drives, and through Kids in Crisis, a program that enlists the support of area businesses to assist caseworkers with administrative needs throughout the year. While the cause is focused on children, it positively affects the volunteers, too.  One person’s passion can spark others’, and create a chain reaction in the community.  We see it throughout Southwest—because of one Employee’s passion, others become involved, and contribute to thousands of lives changed.  This is just one example of how Southwest Airlines gives From the Heart, empowering Employees to share their passions with others to accomplish great things in the communities we serve.  We may be an airline, but we do some of our best work on the ground.