The last time I flew was from Philly to San Francisco. The flight was delayed a bunch of times. It was getting late, I had two kids in tow, and it wasn’t a good scene. Once we finally boarded, it was one of those jam-packed flights with a full-blown carry-on war raging overhead. We were two rows from the back of the plane and sitting amidst a team of bullfighters. I don’t mean matadors. These guys actually wrestle bulls to a standstill in what is the strangest (and probably the most dangerous) team sport ever. Two of them were wheeled onto the plane. The rest of them had various bumps and bruises and bandages. And boy did my son think they were cool, especially after they showed him cell phone videos of their exploits!
It took a while for our section to settle in, but they did – cocooned in airline blankets, sleeping the deep sleep of little children…and beer-filled bull wrestlers. And I remember wondering what happens to those blankets after they are used. Well, now I know. And I’d like to think that those very blankets are making their way to a Long Island shelter right now thanks to the DRI Foundation.
Earlier this week, foundation volunteers picked up hundreds of blankets from Delta’s Atlanta hub and shipped them to New York. They are now preparing to distribute them to shelters and response organizations in the South Shore communities of Long Island, which were hard hit by Sandy. What an awesome idea!
The DRI Foundation is full of awesome ideas and the know-how to carry them out (and that’s no line of bull!). But what the foundation needs is support from DRI Certified Professionals and industry leaders, like you. You can make a tax-deductible donation to the foundation right from your DRI account. It’s easy, and it’s a great way to support response, recovery, and preparedness efforts dreamed up and carried out by foundation volunteers. The foundation is also now accepting items for its annual silent auction to be held in June at DRI2013 and online. For more information about either of these efforts, call (646) 619-3599.
And thanks, in advance, for your support!
Buffy Rojas
DRI International Director of Communications
brojas@drii.org