Qatar Airways distributes 10,000 books to New York City children as part of its ‘Qatar Airways Summer Reading Program’
The award-winning airline marks ten years of serving the U.S. by donating 10,000 high-quality books and educational resources to low-income families in New York City
DOHA, Qatar, 2017-Jul-17 — /Travel PR News/ — In honour of the tenth anniversary of serving the U.S., and as part of Qatar Airways’ commitment to the local communities in which the airline serves, Qatar Airways is distributing 10,000 books to New York City children.
The books are part of the ‘Qatar Airways Summer Reading Program’ with First Book, a nonprofit social enterprise that provides new, high-quality books and resources to children in need.
Qatar Airways Group Chief Executive, His Excellency Mr. Akbar Al Baker, said: “Qatar Airways is pleased to partner with First Book, and to support children and families in New York through the ‘Qatar Airways Summer Reading Project.’ We value our shared vision with First Book in encouraging bright futures for communities in need, specifically supporting their children.
“As a global airline, we recognise that it is our responsibility as a global corporate citizen to assist the communities in which we serve. In providing the necessary educational resources to children and students to help them succeed, we hope to ignite a life-long interest in exploring; both through the joy of reading and travelling.”
The First Book partnership aims to put books and educational resources into the hands of children from low-income families as well as address the issue of ‘summer slide,’ where students’ education lags due to the lack of educational engagement over the summer school holidays. Since the organisation’s founding in 1992, First Book has distributed more than 160 million books and educational resources to programs and schools serving children from low-income families.
“We are so grateful to Qatar Airways for their generous donation of 10,000 books to underserved students in New York,” said Kyle Zimmer, President and CEO of First Book. “But even more, we are inspired by Qatar Airways’ commitment to spreading the joy of reading, and the positive reading experience it has created for these students, with members of their own community who care about their futures.”
To launch the initiative and to further reach out to the New York City community, Qatar Airways’ renowned Cabin Crew attended the event in Brooklyn on Friday, where they distributed the books and read to 100 children, sharing their experiences living abroad as well as the value of education and travel. The Cabin Crew also stayed in New York to celebrate Qatar Airways’ sponsorship of the NYC Formula E ePrix on 15 and 16 July – once again linking education, technology, and community outreach.
The initiative aligns with Qatar Airways’ ongoing commitment to children’s education through the ‘Educate a Child’ programme. Qatar Airways continues to support the communities in which it serves via programs designed to inspire a love for exploration through reading and travel. Last month, Qatar Airways announced it has renewed its partnership with the Education Above All (EAA) Foundation’s programme, Educate A Child (EAC), for the third consecutive year. Since 2014, Qatar Airways has worked hand-in-hand with EAC to raise more than $2.6 million for the programme. Additionally, last year 500 students each received their first book for the summer, courtesy of Qatar Airways and the Atlanta Public Schools, to kick-start the “School’s Out, Reading Is In!” programme.
Qatar Airways’ first flight to the U.S. was on 28 June, 2007, to New York City; closely followed by service to Washington, D.C. the following month. 2016 was a particularly busy year in the U.S. for the airline, as it launched flights to Los Angeles, Boston and Atlanta, taking the total number of gateways into North America to 10, including Chicago, Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Miami and Philadelphia, to name a few. As part of its continuing expansion efforts within the country, Qatar Airways will launch service to San Francisco, California in 2018.
For images, please visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/qatarairways/sets/72157683653052553
Notes to Editors:
About Qatar Airways
Qatar Airways, the national carrier of the State of Qatar, is celebrating 20 years of Going Places Together with travellers across its more than 150 business and leisure destinations. The world’s fast growing airline will add a number of exciting new destinations to its growing network in 2017/18, including Dublin, Nice, Skopje, Sarajevo and many more, flying passengers on board its modern fleet of 200 aircraft.
A multiple award-winning airline, Qatar Airways was recently named Airline of the Year by the 2017 World Airline Awards, managed by international air transport rating organisation Skytrax. It was also named World’s Best Business Class, Best Airline in the Middle East, and World’s Best First Class Airline Lounge.
Qatar Airways is a member of the oneworld global alliance. The award-winning alliance was named the World’s Best Airline Alliance 2015 by Skytrax for the third year running. Qatar Airways was the first Gulf carrier to join global airline alliance, oneworld, enabling its passengers to benefit from more than 1,000 airports in more than 150 countries, with 14,250 daily departures.
Oryx One, Qatar Airways’ in-flight entertainment system offers passengers up to 3,000 entertainment options from the latest blockbuster movies, TV box sets, music, games and much more. Passengers flying on Qatar Airways flights served by its B787, A350, A380, A319 and select A320 and A330 aircraft can also stay in touch with their friends and family around the world by using the award-winning airline’s on-board Wi-Fi and GSM service.
Qatar Airways proudly supports a range of exciting international and local initiatives dedicated to enriching the global community that it serves. Qatar Airways, the official FIFA partner, is the official sponsor of many top-level sporting events, including the FIFA 2018 and 2022 World Cups, reflecting the values of sports as a means of bringing people together, something at the core of the airline’s own brand message – Going Places Together.
Qatar Airways Cargo, the world’s third largest international cargo carrier, serves 60 exclusive freighter destinations worldwide via its world-class Doha hub and also delivers freight to more than 150 key business and leisure destinations globally with 200 aircraft. The Qatar Airways Cargo fleet includes eight Airbus A330 freighters, 12 Boeing 777 freighters and one Boeing 747 freighter.
For further information, please contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +974 4022 2200
For further information contact:
Qatar Airways Group, Corporate Communications Department
- +974 4022 2200
- +974 4022 5350
- qrmedia@qatarairways.com.qa
Visit our homepage www.qatarairways.com or our sites on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Instagram, and YouTube.
For Qatar Airways corporate images, please click here: http://www.qatarairways.com/corporateimages
SOURCE: QATAR AIRWAYS