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In September, crewmembers from JetBlue got in on the #IceBucketChallenge action to raise money and awareness for ALS. Watch JetBlue’s CEO, Robin Hayes, join the fun in this video. You can also watch it on Vimeo here.

Caring for Crewmembers

Through our Care and Emergency Response department, JetBlue supports crewmembers as they address challenges ranging from illness to natural disasters. The department runs LifeSolutions, our personal assistance program, offering free-of-charge mental health assistance, financial and legal resources and more to crewmembers and their families. The Peer Assistance Committee, made up of crewmembers with special training about JetBlue’s resources, helps guide crewmembers in need of support. The Care and Emergency Response department offers training and manages the JetBlue Ready Team that provides disaster response services in partnership with the American Red Cross.

JetBlue also established the JetBlue Crewmember Crisis Fund (JCCF), an independent 501(c)(3) that provides confidential, short-term financial assistance to crewmembers and their families during times of need. The JCCF board, made up of 10 crewmembers from across the business, meets monthly to review applications. Assistance is distributed through grants to help with daily needs, including food, rent or mortgage payments.

“Because of the help we received, our family was able to catch up with bills and not go into further debt. I can’t begin to express my gratitude for all the help. I am also thankful for the assistance I received before the grant to help put food on our table. That to me was going above and beyond. Thank you JCCF for all the help.” - Crewmember and JCCF grant recipient

Helping Crewmembers at home

This year, JCCF helped one crewmember’s family keep their home during difficult times. When the crewmember’s spouse lost employment, the family fell 3 months behind on mortgage and utility payments, facing foreclosure. With the help of a JCCF grant, they stopped the foreclosure, and the crewmember’s spouse secured a new job. Then, when the crewmember was diagnosed with cancer, a second grant helped the family get ahead on mortgage payments while the crewmember recovered.

Funds are raised through crewmembers’ voluntary tax-deductible payroll deductions, fundraisers, the JetBlue Board of Directors and business partners. In 2014, 57 percent of crewmembers contributed monthly to the fund. Since 2002, JCCF has provided grants totaling more than $4.4 million.

Nonstop Community Commitment

When crewmembers feel cared for, they can return the favor and care for their communities. Through JetBlue’s Community Connection program, crewmembers log the hours they volunteer with nonprofit organizations, and for every 25 hours logged, JetBlue donates a travel certificate to the charity of their choice. By providing travel certificates to nonprofits, crewmembers create an opportunity for these organizations to raise funds through raffles or to offset travel costs. In 2014, we donated more than $500,000 in travel. In 2014, more crewmembers than ever before signed up as community project leaders, arranged team volunteering events and gave back to communities, thanks to our new partnership with VolunteerMatch, a nonprofit that connects volunteers with charities. In total, 1,573 crewmembers volunteered 103,279 hours of their own time in 2014.

In December, dozens of crewmembers participated in #B6UnSelfie, a special week of volunteer work. They took to Twitter and posted selfies as they volunteered for various nonprofits. Each day, we randomly selected two of the charities to receive a $1,000 prize. Winners of the prizes included Texas Food Bank, Toys for Tots and Adopt a Family Detroit, among others.

Spreading the Love with PB&J

In August, our Long Beach Crewmembers partnered with the nonprofit - Love in the Mirror - for a peanut butter and jelly event to help the homeless in the Los Angeles area. Our team of 25 made 1,200 pb&j sandwiches in just over two hours and then headed to “skid row” in Los Angeles to hand out the sandwiches along with bottled water, toiletries and pillows and blankets to around 350 people in need.

To learn more about JetBlue’s long-term responsibility platform and to view the full report, visit www.jetblue.com/green/reporting.

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue Airways

JetBlue is New York's Hometown Airline, and a leading carrier in Boston, Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood, Los Angeles (Long Beach), Orlando and San Juan. JetBlue carries more than 30 million customers a year to 87 cities in the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America with an average of 825 daily flights. For more information please visit JetBlue.com.

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