Santa Appears as Allegiant Air Holds Gift Drive at Santa Maria Airport
Allegiant Air held a drive that brought in more than 35 donations for the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Thursday at the Santa Maria Public Airport.
The airline collected donations in the form of toys and travel items for children whose wishes involve traveling, said Airport District General Manager Chris Hastert. Allegiant Air also gave out two free tickets to Las Vegas to a person who donated to the drive.
The airline partnered with Make-A-Wish at the airport last year as well, Hastert said. The company also is running a promotion for the charity online — it filmed a crew painting the Make-A-Wish logo onto one of the airline’s new planes and then started donating $1 for every view the video receives on YouTube, Hastert said.
Make-A-Wish fulfills the wishes of children with serious illnesses and disabilities.
Tyler Brooks, his wife and two children drove to the airport from Arroyo Grande to donate bath toys. Brooks said they heard about the event through his wife’s cousin, who works at the airport. His children also were excited to come, because it meant they could take a photo with Santa Claus, who sat next to the donation table complete with a printer to churn out pictures. “Of course, they’re always excited when Santa’s in town,” Brooks said.
Santa Maria Times – 12/20/13