For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Justin Burke - 213.201.1525
EMAIL:jburke@apla.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 16, 1999
UNITED AIRLINESTO OBSERVE WORLD AIDS DAY
BY AIRING AIDS PROJECT LOS ANGELES PSA
Onboard video aims to raise awareness of the global fight against HIV/AIDS
LOS ANGELES -- United Airlines announced today that it would observe World AIDS Day 1999 (December 1) by airing a special public service announcement from AIDS Project Los Angeles (APLA) onboard all of its eastbound domestic flights throughout the month of December.
The public service announcement was developed as part of United’s continuing partnership with APLA. Interspersed among important statistics on AIDS, the 90-second video features vignettes of people who are living with HIV or AIDS, who have lost loved ones to the disease or who volunteer their time and talents for AIDS services awareness and prevention - including Jeffrey Katzenberg, an APLA board member and a principal partner in DreamWorks SKG. The video illustrates the diversity of people who are affected by HIV and AIDS, explains the important roles that AIDS service organizations play in the battle against the disease and encourages viewers to support their local AIDS charities.
“United Airlines has been extremely supportive of AIDS and HIV work across the country,” said APLA Executive Director Craig E. Thompson. “By airing this public service announcement on its planes, United will help us remind people that we cannot confuse hope with victory in the fight against AIDS.”
“We are proud to take part in the global observance of Worlds AIDS Day,” said Susana Leyva, a United spokesperson. “This video is just the latest project we have supported as a company to raise awareness of the fight against the disease while raising awareness and resources for people living with HIV and AIDS.”
United currently provides charitable support in the form of free air travel to more than a dozen national and community-based organizations that provide health services, food, legal assistance and other resources to people living with HIV and AIDS.
This year, United employees in more than 20 different U.S. communities volunteered to support local AIDS walks, raising money for local AIDS charities and spurring grants of up to $1,000 from the United Airlines Foundation. United customers have contributed their frequent-flier miles to organizations that include APLA, the Dream Foundation and the Elisabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation via the Charity Miles program. United is also the official airline of the Names Project Foundation.
The public service announcement will air regularly on all of United’s eastbound flights in the U.S. this December - nearly 10,000 flights reaching as many as 1.3 million United passengers.
AIDS Project Los Angeles, a non-profit community-based organization, provides direct services to more than 8,000 men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County. Services include a food bank, a dental clinic, housing assistance, transportation, mental health counseling, case management, home health care and Adult and Child Buddy support. APLA also provides extensive treatment and prevention education and advocacy on local, state and federal AIDS-related legislation.
United Airlines sponsors more than 80 social, cultural, charitable and professional organizations - at the national and local level - in the lesbian and gay community.
As the largest air carrier in the world and the largest majority employee-owned company, United offers 2,370 fights each day on a network that spans the globe.
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