FALLS CHURCH, Va. (Dec. 16, 2014) -- United Airlines recently celebrated its 25th anniversary of "Fantasy Flight" at Washington Dulles International Airport to bring the joy of the holiday season to local disadvantaged and sick children.
United Airlines Fantasy Flights are charitable events that usually take place around Christmas in several United Airlines cities for a select group of deserving children. At Washington Dulles, the crew members and employees of United Airlines augmented by volunteers from the Army's Office of the Surgeon General (OTSG), Fort Belvoir, the U.S. Marine Corps and local high schools, created a holiday wonderland and made it appear as if the kids were visiting the "North Pole" where they met Santa and shared their Christmas wishes.
The day began with the children and their families arriving at the airport, and boarding an airplane unlike any other they've seen. Once on board, the pilot announced that the plane would soon be taking off for the North Pole.
After the children landed at a terminal decorated like the North Pole, they entered into a bright, colorful world with such characters as Big Bird, Elmo, SpongeBob SquarePants, and McGruff the Crime Dog. Christmas melodies and caroling were provided by local bands and choral groups.
This year's flight featured 310 guests, which included 70 terminally ill patients, 77 siblings, and 163 parents. Through its partnership with Children's Hospice International (CHI), United Airlines was able to identify which of these deserving children was well enough to participate in this annual flight to see Santa.
To coordinate an event of this magnitude not only requires participation but also a lot of manpower and volunteer support. Noting how exhausted she was at the end of the 4-hour event, United Airlines' flight attendant Christine Smith said it would be a real challenge to host this event each year without the volunteer support provided by the U.S. Army and other local agencies.
"The support the Army provides is HUGE! The Soldiers and volunteers bring a lot of muscle to the table, and they help us tremendously with staging our equipment and with the overall setup," Smith said. "We love the Army support we have received through the years. This is the 5th year, and we always appreciate the assistance."
Military support for this year's Fantasy Flight included 81 volunteers, comprised of civilian and military personnel and their family members. Of this number, 21 volunteers came from the OTSG headquartered at Falls Church, Va. Along with a group of 29 high school students, the other volunteers were from the Army's Project Manager Soldier Sensors and Lasers unit and the Marine Corps' Chemical Biological Incident Reaction Force.
While waiting for Santa to arrive, the children engaged in various activities which included: mailing a letter to Santa, cookie decorating, face painting, ornament crafting, jumping around in a bounce house and ball pit, shooting at targets with the Nerf guns, and a bean bag toss. They also took photos and played with Ronald McDonald, the Washington National's baseball team's huge puppets of President Washington, Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt, and various others who helped make this event such a festive occasion.
Soldiers with the Program Executive Office (PEO) and a few Marines excited the children with static displays of their own. The Marines brought a couple of the robots they use to detect and identify chemical and radiological hazards, and PEO Soldiers showed the children how to see in the dark with their night vision equipment.
"This was my first year volunteering. I didn't know what it was, but was told it involved volunteering with kids. I love Christmas, and I love kids so I thought it would be a fun opportunity," said Capt. Angela B. Samosorn, an Army Nurse Corps intern at OTSG. "I didn't fully grasp what the event was, how big it was, and how meaningful it was until I was there. When the kids and their families arrived at the North Pole, it was such a moving experience. I actually cried."
"I was involved in cookie decorating. I had an opportunity to speak with one parent who talked a bit about her family's experience since their child's cancer diagnosis this past summer," she continued. "She mentioned that they hadn't had the opportunity to travel, and she thought the chance to fly around for a bit was nice. There were opportunities for the parents to write down something they would like for themselves, and I overheard one mother say she hadn't thought about herself in so long she didn't know what to ask for. What this event did was make the entire family feel special. For some, we didn't know exactly which children were ill and which were siblings. But, it didn't matter because the entire family unit is dealing with a terminal diagnosis. We showered all the kids with attention and excitement!"
"As I was leaving the airport and many of the families were toting their bounty from the event, and their child in a wheel chair along with other forms of medical equipment, they thanked me profusely for giving up my Saturday morning to make their family's holiday special," she said. "All I could say was 'you're welcome' because I got just as much out of it. It felt good to ask the caregivers if I could get them anything when they sat at the cookie table. I think being a nurse helped in realizing that the caregiver or parent needs someone to acknowledge them and give them a minute to sit and not worry about getting up for a spoon or a bottle of water. Those simple things can be daunting when your attention is 100% focused on a sick child. This event was a great way to start the holiday season. I was able to give and receive joy, which has no monetary value but still makes you feel good!"
While this event is organized for the kids, it benefits the parents as well, according to Bill Watts, director of United Express Operations and Performance at Washington-Dulles and Fantasy Flight chairman/coordinator.
Said Watts, who has been involved with Fantasy Flight for the past seven years, "I think that this event allows these families who spend so much time in hospitals or care units or in treatment three to four hours to really enjoy the holiday and forget about everything else that goes on in their lives. I like to think of it as three to four hours of joy."
He added, "From the feedback I get every year, I believe these families are thrilled to be able to bring their children, both their children who are patients and their siblings, to an event like this and really enjoy it."
Fantasy Flight continues to be a great success. Now in its 25th year of hosting this special trip to the North Pole, United Airlines has expanded the Fantasy Flight to Chicago, Cleveland, Houston, Denver, Los Angeles, Newark, N.J., and San Francisco. Fantasy Flights are also hosted in Boise, Idaho; Phoenix, Ariz.; San Antonio, Texas; and Sydney, Australia.
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