DALLAS, Dec. 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest
Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) today celebrates Giving Tuesday by
encouraging Rapid Rewards® Members to join the Company in giving
back to organizations whose missions are aimed at transforming
lives and championing communities across the nation through the
carrier's Points for a Purpose program. To kick-start this year's
Giving Tuesday effort, Southwest is welcoming three new
organizations to its Points for a Purpose program and donating
100,000 Rapid Rewards Points to each of the new organizations:
Polaris, Hispanic Heritage Foundation, and UNCF (United Negro
College Fund). They are joining the carrier's Points for a Purpose
roster, which also includes the Student Conservation Association,
Ronald McDonald House Charities, Team Rubicon, and Honor Flight
Network.
Travel is an essential component for these organizations, and by
donating Rapid Rewards Points, Customers can help them provide
mission-critical services and special experiences for the
communities they serve. As part of Southwest's Points for a Purpose
program, Customers can support causes that matter to them by using
their Rapid Rewards Points, allowing organizations to help offset
travel costs.
"As the pandemic continues impacting all of us, we remain
dedicated to our support of organizations that are working to meet
the growing needs within communities across the country," said
Laurie Barnett, Southwest's Managing
Director of Communications and Outreach. "We invite our Customers
and Rapid Rewards Members to put their Heart in action, harnessing
the spirit of giving, and igniting transformation in communities
across the country."
Points for a Purpose Partners celebrate Southwest's
commitment to loving People, building resilience, and living
responsibly. Through this program, Rapid Rewards Members have
donated nearly 400,000,000 Rapid Rewards Points to deserving
organizations since 2015. The organizations in Southwest's
Points for a Purpose program support a wide range of needs
including providing assistance during and after disasters;
supporting survivors of human trafficking; honoring our military;
helping students from diverse populations develop into future
leaders; and making a positive impact on our environment.
To learn more about Points for a Purpose and how Customers can
donate Rapid Rewards Points, visit Southwest.com/donate.
ABOUT SOUTHWEST AIRLINES CO.
In its 50th year of
service, Dallas-based Southwest Airlines
Co. continues to differentiate itself from other air
carriers with exemplary Customer Service to a Customer base topping
130 million passengers in 2019. Southwest became the nation's
largest domestic air carrier in 2003 and maintains that ranking
based on the U.S. Department of Transportation's most recent
reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded. In peak
travel seasons during 2019, Southwest operated more than 4,000
weekday departures among a network of 101 destinations in
the United States and 10
additional countries. In early 2020, the carrier added service to
Hilo, Hawaii, and Cozumel, Mexico. Southwest began service to
Palm Springs, Calif. and
Miami on Nov. 15, and will begin service to two new
seasonal destinations in Colorado,
Steamboat Springs and Montrose (Telluride and Crested Butte) on Dec.
19, 2020. On Feb. 14, 2021,
Southwest will begin service to Chicago (O'Hare) and Sarasota/Bradenton. Service from Savanah, Georgia and Colorado
Springs will begin on March 11,
2021, and operations from Houston (George Bush Intercontinental) and
Jackson, Miss. are anticipated to
begin in the first half of 2021.
The carrier issued its Southwest® Promise in
May 2020 to highlight new and
round-the-clock efforts to support its Customers and Employees
wellbeing and comfort. Among the changes are enhanced cleaning
efforts at airports and onboard aircraft, and face covering
requirements for Customers and Employees. Additional details about
the Southwest Promise are available at
Southwest.com/Promise.
Southwest coined Transfarency® to
describe its purposed philosophy of treating Customers honestly and
fairly, and low fares actually staying low. Southwest is the only
major U.S. airline to offer bags fly free® to
everyone (first and second checked pieces of luggage, size and
weight limits apply, some carriers offer free checked bags on
select routes or in qualified circumstances). Southwest does not
charge change fees, though fare differences might apply.
Southwest is one of the most honored airlines in the world,
known for a triple bottom line approach that contributes to the
carrier's performance and productivity, the importance of its
People and the communities they serve, and an overall commitment to
efficiency and the planet. Learn more about how the carrier gives
back to communities across the world by visiting
Southwest.com/citizenship.
Book Southwest Airlines' low fares online
at Southwest.com or by phone at 800-I-FLY-SWA.
ABOUT POLARIS
Named after the North Star, a
historical symbol of freedom, Polaris is leading a social justice
movement to fight sex and labor trafficking at the massive scale of
the problem - 25 million people worldwide robbed of the freedom to
choose how they live and work. For more than a decade, Polaris has
assisted thousands of victims and survivors through the U.S.
National Human Trafficking Hotline, helped ensure countless
traffickers were held accountable, and built the largest known U.S.
data set on actual trafficking experiences. With the guidance of
survivors, we use that data to improve the way trafficking is
identified, how victims and survivors are assisted, and how
communities, businesses and governments can prevent human
trafficking by transforming the underlying inequities and
oppressions that make it possible.
ABOUT HISPANIC HERITAGE FOUNDATION
The Hispanic
Heritage Foundation is a national nonprofit focused on education,
workforce, innovative leadership and culture to meet America's
priorities. Visit www.hispanicheritigage.org to learn more or
follow HHF on
Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.
ABOUT UNITED NEGRO COLLEGE FUND
UNCF (United Negro
College Fund) is the nation's largest and most effective minority
education organization. To serve youth, the community and the
nation, UNCF supports students' education and development
through scholarships and other programs, supports and strengthens
its 37 member colleges and universities, and advocates for the
importance of minority education and college readiness. UNCF
institutions and other historically Black colleges and universities
are highly effective, awarding nearly 20% of African American
baccalaureate degrees. UNCF administers more than
400 programs, including scholarship, internship and
fellowship, mentoring, summer enrichment, and curriculum and
faculty development programs. Today, UNCF supports more than 60,000
students at over 1,100 colleges and universities across the
country. Its logo features the UNCF torch of leadership in
education and its widely recognized trademark, ‟A mind is a
terrible thing to waste."® Learn more
at UNCF.org or for continuous updates and news
follow UNCF on Twitter at @UNCF.
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SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.