Southwest Airlines' Medical Transportation Grant Program Turns Miles Into Smiles

Medical Transportation Grant Program Turns Miles Into Smiles

By: Ann McGee

This is a guest post from Ann McGee, President of Miracle Flights for Kids®.

As President of Miracle Flights for Kids®, I have had the privilege to witness actual miracles. Meet Cameron—one of those special miracles. In six short years, Cameron has had more than 100 bones break and ten surgeries—more than most of us know in a lifetime. Take one look at this little boy—so happy and full of life.  You would never suspect he suffers from a disease called Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which causes his tiny bones to break easily.

As Cameron fights to maintain a normal lifestyle, he travels regularly from Atlanta for surgery at Children’s Specialty Physicians in Omaha. Thanks to Southwest Airlines’ Medical Transportation Grant Program, Miracle Flights for Kids® is able to provide families like Cameron’s the opportunity to travel free of cost to receive treatment. Without means for travel, Cameron would not have received the proper diagnosis or the proper treatment from the doctors best suited to care for his condition.  By partnering with Southwest Airlines, we have been able to provide free travel for America’s low-income, sick, and disabled children.

Cameron reminds us that life is too short to not smile. Southwest not only alleviates the financial burden of air travel, but offers friendly service that keep kids like Cameron smiling, despite what they are battling on the inside. Together, Miracle Flights for Kids® and Southwest Airlines have turned miles into smiles, and we look forward to many more miracles just like Cameron.

Over the past five years, Southwest has been humbled to lessen the burden of travel expenses for nearly 20,000 families who are facing serious illness. In 2012, Southwest provided more than $2.4 million in free transportation through our Medical Transportation Grant Program to hospitals and organizations nationwide. Learn more about this amazing program and how nonprofits can apply to participate: http://social.southwest.com/Wym.