• ​Employees can receive one day of pay when they volunteer with a nonprofit organization of their choice through The Great Delta Give-Back.

• Delta people joined with Aeromexico and Virgin Atlantic to help refugees in an Atlanta-area community known as the most diverse square mile in America.

• The group worked with Friends of Refugees to serve a school where 46 languages are spoken.

Delta's Alliances Team joined forces with colleagues from Aeromexico and Virgin Atlantic to spend a day serving refugees from across the world at Friends of Refugees in Clarkston, Ga., as part of The Great Delta Give-Back.

Just east of Delta's Atlanta headquarters, Clarkston is noted for its diversity among residents after being identified as an ideal refugee resettlement center in the 1980s. Friends of Refugees provides much-needed support to refugees in the area through various initiatives, including education, family healthcare needs and employment assistance.

“We felt their mission mirrors how Delta connects millions of people around the world,” said Paul Buckley, General Manager – Alliances. “There is a lot of diversity in our department where we focus on building relationships with partner airlines across the globe. It was great to be joined by our partners based here in Atlanta, making it a truly international event.”

The team of 35 volunteers spent the morning tending to the community garden, which provides local refugee families a plot to grow produce from their home country not available in local stores.

They also tore down and replaced a security fence around the garden and donated new gardening equipment to plant and tend fresh herbs for the community.​

The group also worked at the local church school – where students speak up to 46 different languages. They removed broken items, painted walls and constructed shelving to help transform an old classroom into a storage space where they can host sales of donated goods.

“We connect millions of people across the globe each year, with 200 million unique viewpoints, backgrounds and stories. The diversity of Delta employees and customers takes on a new meaning when it comes full circle and we apply it to our mission of giving back,” said Perry Cantarutti, Senior Vice President – Alliances.

Paul added, "For our leadership to allow us to step back from the pace of running the world's best airline for a day to help others is one of the many reasons why Delta is such a fantastic place to work."

About The Great Delta Give-Back

As part of this year's $1.3 billion profit sharing celebration, Delta redoubled its commitment to communities worldwide by investing additional employee volunteering in charitable organizations they care about. Starting this year, Delta employees will receive one day of pay when they volunteer with a 501(c)(3) or international nonprofit organization of their choice. Employees can learn more about the paid day of service here. ​