Corporate interest is soaring in flight donations that transport patients in style and comfort to their healthcare destinations, conveying unique images of care and compassion.
United Airlines, last month, donated 3.5 million miles to the Children's Circle of Care, a cooperative network of 20 hospitals. And more recently, the Corporate Angel Network (CAN) conducted its 10,000th charitable flight on April 22.
The White, Plains, N.Y.-based, non profit arranges corporate flights for cancer patients and bone marrow donors. It now is scheduling 100 flights per month with companies willing to donate corporate jets and pilots during downtime. Back in 1981, when it started, it was scheduling a mere 22 flights in the first year.
The Angel Network, with three full-time employees and 60 volunteers, used an agency for the first time, to promote its 10,000th flight and spark national corporate interest. Previously it relied on word-of-mouth awareness rather than proactive PR.
Back-End, Anonymous PR
Most of the country's top healthcare facilities are familiar with the 17-year-old Angel Network. However, the organization wants to make greater inroads with the 3,000 companies nationwide that own aircraft, says Jay N. Weinberg, CAN's founder and a cancer survivor.
At 80, Weinberg spearheads several corporate efforts that target the narrow niche of corporate executives and pilots, convincing them to donate empty seats to cancer patients.
With the pro bono help of InterScience, an international agency in New York, CAN's ambitious mission is to boost its "corporate angel" participation from 550 corporations to 1,000 by the year 2000 through savvy media relations that focus on the trips but not necessarily the corporate sponsor.
"Some organizations like to have PR, using [their corporate angel participation] for in-house coverage while others want to remain anonymous so they won't be overwhelmed by requests," says Weinberg.
For the 10,000th flight media relations effort, InterScience pitched national and regional media on the memorable flight that CAN frequent flier Melissa Henne of Richmond, Va., would take to the Northern New Jersey Cancer Center. But the New Jersey-based company that had been flying her for more than a year, did not want to be identified.
Ironically, the event - not the corporate sponsor - generated coverage from CNN, CNN Airport Network, the regional Gannett suburban network of four newspapers and the NBC and Fox affiliates for Richmond, Va., says Bob Schwadron, who headed the Interscience PR effort.
Since corporations tend to shy away from the media spotlight on donated flights, CAN recognized them in more subtle ways. Its annual Bronze award celebrates companies that have donated 100 flights. So far, 14 companies are on the list, including AT&T [T], Dow Chemical [DOW] and Xerox [XRX]. Bristol Myers Squibb [BMY] developed its marketing brochures on a pro bono basis and PSAs have run in national magazines like Fortune, Time and People. (Corporate Angel Network, Jay Weinberg, 914/328-1313; InterScience, Bob Schwadron, 212/468-3616; United Airlines, Tony Molinaro, 847/700-4971)
Corporate Flyer Benefits
The Corporate Angel Network is a Godsend for cancer patients who do not require life support or medical assistance and can provide their own back-up travel arrangements. So far, CAN has flown 10,000 patients to their healthcare destinations. Patient benefits include:
- No cost, no hassle flights;
- Morale boost - businesses provide a comfortable flight while delivering a "we care" message; and
- Doctors report that CAN fliers are easier to treat, more relaxed.
Source: Corporate Angel Network