Be A Hero...Donate Your Miles

THIS MEMORIAL DA Y WEEKEND TURN YOUR FREQUENT FLYER MILES INTO “HERO MILES”

Join the president of CNN in helping our Military Men and Women wounded in Iraq or Afghanistan and their families by donating your frequent flyer miles. to the Fisher House Foundation's "Hero Miles" program. Ten airlines have ageed to MATCH ALL DONATIONS: ( From 6am May 25th through 11:59pm May 28th ET )

“The president of CNN challenged his staff to do something over Memorial Day weekend,” Jim Weiskopf vice president of communications for the Fisher House Foundation, said. “They looked around at a couple options and they decided that they would like to do a drive to get us more ‘Hero Miles.’”

To get their newest project rolling, CNN contacted all of the 10 Hero Miles program airline partners and asked them to help with the challenge. The airlines agreed to match all of the frequent flyer miles that their passengers donate to the program between 6am May 25th and 11:59 pm on May 28th; the weekend before Memorial Day.

“As you might imagine, most of the ticketing we do is all at the last minute because it’s all connected to medical emergencies,” Weiskopf said. “Normally, the tickets we’re getting today are for flights leaving tomorrow and the day after.”

For the families of the injured servicemen, paying for the costs of those tickets averages more than $1,300 each. Hero Miles has provided more than 9,000 tickets for family members of wounded servicemembers, which calculates to more than $12 million. That is equivalent of approximately 450 million miles since the program began 3 1/2 years ago. Not only does the Hero Miles program cover family members, but what they consider “close friends” as well.
“I use the terminology ‘close friends’ because if you’re young and single, it’s nice to have your mother and father there, but you probably really want your boyfriend or girlfriend,” he said. “If that will help you recover, we’ll bring them in.”

This is also true for any other person who may be helpful in the wounded servicemember recover. The tickets are provided for medically necessary travel only. Regular leave requests are not included in the program.

Hero Miles accepts donations of frequent flyer miles year round. This weekend however, the frequent flyer miles will count for double. Links can be found to donate frequent flyer miles on the following airline’s websites: AirTran, American Airlines, Alaska Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta, Frontier, Midwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United and US Airways. You can find a link to these airlines at the Fisher House Foundation’s Hero Miles web page.

“We are so deeply appreciative for the generosity of the American flying public,” Weiskopf said. “Individually, (the airlines) have all told us that this is perhaps the most meaningful frequent flyer program that they have been associated with in the history of the airline, because (the miles) are going right to the people who need them the most.”