ATLANTA, Jan. 14, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), the hometown airline of the birthplace of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., kicked off the New Year with a global fundraising campaign to help make the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial in Washington, D.C. a reality.
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"A Nobel Peace Prize winner and one of the greatest leaders in American history, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. understood the importance of making peaceful change and joining people of all races and cultures in pursuit of a common good," said Richard Anderson, Delta's chief executive officer. "We ask our customers to join the people of Delta in donating to the campaign in support of the King Memorial in Washington, D.C. By doing so, we can all make a difference."
The $100 million monument is being built on a four-acre site near the Lincoln Memorial, where Dr. King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech in 1963. To date, more than $87 million has been raised for the memorial which is scheduled to open in 2009 and marks the first monument to an African American on the National Mall.
"There is no question that Martin Luther King was a world citizen -- tourism, travel, the global dimensions of peace and justice were always very much a part of everything he said and did," said Ambassador Andrew Young. "As a son of Atlanta, he was a son of Delta."
Delta is supporting the fundraising effort in a variety of ways that allow both customers and employees to contribute to the important Memorial, honoring Dr. King's legacy. Donations can be made online now through Delta's Force for Global Good at delta.com/mlkfund where contributions will be received and tracked by the official memorial fund site. The MLK Jr. National Memorial Account, account number 0991669648 at the Delta Community Credit Union, was also established to receive contributions. In addition, all of Delta's domestic Crown Room Clubs(r) will accept donations from Jan. 21 through Feb. 28.
"Who better than Delta to do what it can to increase awareness that the memorial is an ongoing effort and, in the process, spread the message that Dr. King put forth?" said Tim Mapes, Delta's vice president of Marketing and president of The Delta Foundation. "Dr. King introduced the world to the value of diversity and inclusion -- universal principles we acknowledge and value in our customers, our employees and the communities we serve across the globe. Delta and its more than 48,000 employees worldwide are honored to support the Washington, D.C. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial project."
The January cover of Delta's Sky magazine features an illustration of Dr. King, along with a Q&A inside with Ambassador Young who was a top aide to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the civil rights movement and serves on the Board of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Non-Violent Social Change. In addition, throughout the month of February, Delta will play a video about the memorial project on the overhead on-flight entertainment systems available on board many Delta flights worldwide.
Delta's employees, customers, and community partners form Delta's Force for Global Good, an organization for positive local and global change, dedicated to improving standards of living and the environment where Delta employees and customers live and work.
Delta Air Lines operates service to more worldwide destinations than any airline with Delta and Delta Connection flights to 321 destinations in 58 countries. Delta has added more international capacity than any major U.S. airline during the last two years and is the leader across the Atlantic with flights to 36 trans-Atlantic markets. To Latin America and the Caribbean, Delta offers more than 500 weekly flights to 63 destinations. Delta's marketing alliances also allow customers to earn and redeem SkyMiles on nearly 15,000 flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta is a founding member of SkyTeam, a global airline alliance that provides customers with extensive worldwide destinations, flights and services. Including its SkyTeam and worldwide codeshare partners, Delta offers flights to 485 worldwide destinations in 106 countries. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes and check flight status at delta.com.
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