Going Off-Road for Others

In addition to making a big difference for the airline’s customers, many of Continental’s more than 45,000 co-workers make a big difference in their communities as well. International Airport Business Manager Santiago Cappanera, a member of the Continental team in Buenos Aires, is no exception.

An avid member of the Land Rover Club of Argentina, Cappanera took part in a mission with that group to use their vehicles’ off-road capabilities to transport needed items to indigenous communities living in the Chaco region of Argentina — an area that’s not accessible by other means of transportation. He enlisted his co-workers to support his efforts by collecting items such as clothes, shoes, medicines, nonperishable foods, and toys.

 “Everybody around us got involved,” Cappanera says. “Families, friends, co-workers. It was incredible. I wrote to our employees at the airport, and in a matter of weeks we had collected 10 large boxes of merchandise.” He and other members of the Land Rover Club then drove 11 vehicles full of the needed items nearly 2,000 miles.

Of his experience, Cappanera says, “To watch their faces as we gave out clothes and shoes and toys was simply too much. Your feeling at that time is very difficult to express. It is at the same time heartbreaking and soul enriching. In exchange for our gifts, some of them would bring out food and water of their own to share with us. Imagine that. You are there to help them and they are ready to share the little they have with you.”

Walking for Babies

Continental is proud to serve as a national sponsor of the March for Babies, the March of Dimes’ key fundraising and awareness event (previously known as WalkAmerica). In recent years, thousands of Continental employees have participated in walks at dozens of locations, helping to raise money for the March of Dimes by soliciting pledges from friends, family members, and co-workers who sponsor them. The mission of the March of Dimes is to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth, and infant mortality.

Continental’s hometown of Houston hosts the largest March for Babies event in the United States. This year, marches will take place in Houston, New York, and Cleveland on April 27.

As official airline of the March of Dimes 2008 National Ambassador Program, Continental is helping to put a face on the organization’s mission. Throughout the year, the 2008 National Ambassador, Catharine Aboulhouda, will fly on Continental to attend events to raise awareness of the March of Dimes. 

Catharine was born 16 weeks early and spent 113 days in a newborn intensive care unit. Amazingly, she suffers no lasting consequences of her extremely premature birth, thanks in part to medical advances developed and funded with help from the March of Dimes. Today, she is a healthy 5-year-old with the energy of a firecracker — she loves singing, reading with her grandparents, and swimming with her brother, Michael.

“Continental is proud to come together with the March of Dimes to fight premature birth,” says Larry Kellner, chairman and CEO of Continental. “This marks our third year as the official airline of the National Ambassador Program. We are excited about this partnership and look forward to joining Catharine and the March of Dimes in their efforts to help save babies.”