Delta's Toys for Tots partnership keeps climbing

Staff Writer

Dec. 19, 2022, 2:45 p.m.

For the 18^th year, Delta is helping children ride into the holidays in style through our support of Toys for Tots.

As a Marine Toys for Tots partner and five-star corporate sponsor, Delta employees work all year to ensure children throughout the United States have a happy holiday, including bikes assembled by our TechOps people, toy donations and financial support. More than 200 TechOps AMTs, ASMs, tool room attendants and other team members across 20 TechOps departments built bikes. Collection boxes were placed in airports across our service system and at Delta headquarters. Fundraising for 2022 started almost immediately after the 2021 donations were delivered.

Delta people from TechOps, In-Flight Service, Global Sales, Finance, IT and Flight Operations rallied to purchase and assemble bicycles, as well as rally toy and money donations to support Toys for Tots.

"I'm so proud to announce that we exceeded this year's goal and will be donating 1,476 bikes– which is record-breaking for TechOps," said Don Mitacek, SVP Tech Ops & President DTSG. "And I especially want to thank our co-chairs, Terrance Godfrey and David Smith."

Throughout the year, the Delta Toys for Tots committee fundraises to purchase bikes that TechOps employees build in the TechOps hangar. This year, several other divisions volunteered to help including In-Flight, Global Sales, Finance and Flight Ops. Our IT department took more than 50 volunteers to the Toys for Tots warehouse more than an hour away to work six hours helping to sort the toys.

Employees across Delta donated more than 2,000 additional toys that filled three tractor-trailers which were later transported, through a donation from FedEx, from the Delta hangar to the warehouse for processing and delivery.

Delta is also contributing an additional $25,000 this week to the New York Toys for Tots efforts in lieu of a holiday gift to our investors attending Investors Day. In addition, a $50,000 corporate contribution was presented to the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation at the Atlanta event representing Delta's support in key markets to Toys for Tots for kids to have a brighter holiday season.

"Over the last few weeks, I've had a constant smile on my face because I've seen hundreds of pink and blue bikes line the halls of the TOC, and they continued to grow in numbers," said Don. "This is absolutely one of my favorite times of the year because of how our people step up to give back to our communities."