For Immediate Release
April 18, 2018

Contact:
Frederick Badlissi
(424) 646-5260

(Los Angeles, CA) In honor of National Volunteer Recognition Week, Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) proudly recognizes our many volunteers and team members who give back to the local community and serve the guests and staff at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) and Van Nuys Airport (VNY). These volunteers include greeters, help desk staff, and the volunteers of our Pets Unstressing Passengers (or PUPs) program.

“Every day at LAX, you will find people who are volunteering their time to ensure our guests have the best possible experience at the airport, whether they’re heading out for an adventure or traveling to Los Angeles for the first time,” said Keith Wilschetz, Deputy Executive Director for Operations and Emergency Management. “Our volunteers help point guests in the right direction to catch their buses, bring smiles to their faces through our PUPs program, and help travelers get where they need to go, all helping us fulfill our mission to provide an exceptional guest experience.”

“LAX employees are proud to be part of the community and to donate our time, talent and resources to great causes,” said Trevor Daley, Deputy Executive Director for External Affairs at LAWA. “Our goal is to be a world-class neighbor, as we strive to be a world-class airport, and I’m grateful to all those who are part of our LAX and VNY volunteer efforts.”

LAWA’s volunteers include community members, concerned citizens, current employees and retired ones, all whose work has combined to make a difference throughout our community and beyond.

LAWA’s many volunteer activities include, but are not limited to:

VIPs: Nearly 300 volunteers serve as LAX Volunteer Information Professionals (VIPs), providing in-terminal assistance to guests as they pass in and out of LAX’s nine terminals. In 2017, VIPs collectively volunteered more than 37,000 hours to more than 1.6 million guests who asked them for assistance. This figure includes not only the dedicated volunteers in the red vests at each terminal’s Information Counter, but also those who bring their pets to the terminals as part of LAX’s Pets Unstressing Passengers (PUPs) Program.

PUPs: The PUPs, which began with 20 volunteer dogs, has grown to more than 80 volunteer dogs (and their human partners) who have contributed 3,300 hours comforting guests at the boarding gate areas. This renowned program one of the largest airport therapy dog programs in the nation and a model program. The PUPs Program officially turns five this month, and LAWA will celebrate its five-year anniversary on May 23, 2018. LAXceeders Student Volunteer Program: In a few weeks, LAX plans on expanding its VIP volunteer programs to include the LAXceeders Student Volunteer Program, a group high school students from Westchester Enriched Sciences Magnets High School who will volunteer at LAX. These students will earn credit while learning invaluable guest service skills as they assist travelers, and learn about the many jobs and opportunities in the field of aviation.

Team LAWA: Team LAWA is an official volunteer organization for Los Angeles World Airports employees and family members, providing year-round volunteer opportunities local non-profit events and support of charitable causes throughout Los Angeles. In 2017, across eight events, Team LAWA’s 96 volunteers contributed 508 hours to the community, including volunteering at the L.A. Marathon Health Expo, St. Margaret’s Holiday Program, and by collecting canned food items for a local food pantry.

LAX Dunes: At the LAX Dunes, volunteers perform an important part of habitat restoration, uprooting a variety of invasive plants so that the native 900 plant and animal species can flourish once again. In 2017, 671 volunteers uprooted more than 992 trash bags of non-native plants for over 1,826 hours. LAX Dunes volunteers are coordinated by LAWA and The Bay Foundation, who coordinate monthly volunteer groups on the first Saturday of every month. Among the volunteers are students, youth groups, and companies that are searching for volunteer opportunities.

March of Dimes: In 2017, LAWA employees came together to raise more than $14,000 for the March for Babies Walk, which raises funds to ensure the survival of babies. The total raisedplaced LAWA asthe topmid-sized city departments, and second-highestof32 participatingLos Angeles City departments.

Bob Hope USO at LAX: The Bob Hope USO at LAX’s mission is to keep service members connected to family, home and country by offering a 24-hour, 7 days a week place to rest, enjoy a meal, stock up on essentials, or to spend some time with loved ones. In 2017, the Bob Hope USO at LAX served 104,000 service members across 34,000 hours from over 200 volunteersacross four daily shifts.  

Tommy Scott Memorial Run: On April 29, members from the Los Angeles Airport Police and employees from LAWA will volunteer and participate in the 2018 Tommy Scott Memorial Half-Marathon, 5K & 10K LAX Run.The run pays tribute to the late Officer Tommy Scott’s legacy of public service, dedication to physical fitness and love of children.The community-wide event was named after Tommy Scott, the first LAXPD officer killed in the line of duty in 2005.Proceeds from the run will benefit the Tommy Scott Memorial Scholarship Fund.

National Read Across America Day: LAWA employees and members from the Los Angeles Airport Police joined with staff from LA Councilmember Curren Price's office and the Normandie Avenue Elementary School to read to school-aged children at the school and LAX's Terminal 4. Children were delighted by readings of Dr. Seuss' "The Cat in the Hat," and received goodie bags filled with items to help them begin a life-long relationship with reading.  

United Way HomeWalk 2017: More than 50 LAWA employees joined over 10,000 people for United Way of Greater LA's HomeWalk USA event. The 5K walk/run raised more than $1 million to help people experiencing homelessness, with the eventual goal of eradicating it completely. Over 20 LAWA employees and their families came out for the walk, and a total of nearly $10,000 was raised through donations.

To become part of the Volunteer Information Professionals (VIPs) or PUPs), applications for the volunteer programs are available online at www.flylax.com/vipand can be submitted to: VIP Office, 1 World Way, Los Angeles, CA 90045. For more information, contact the VIP Office at (424) 646-VIP1 (8471) or vip@lawa.org. For information about helping to restore the LAX Dunes, please visit The Bay Foundation’s “Friends of the LAX Dunes” website, located at http://www.santamonicabay.org/friends-of-the-lax-dunes/ . For information about volunteer at the Bob Hope USO at LAX, please visit bobhopeuso.org for information. For information on how to volunteer for the Tommy Scott Memorial run, which takes place April 29, 2018, please visit https://laxrun.laapoa.com/.