Atlantica - 01.07.2004, Page 62

60 A T L A N T I C A
PRICELESS
SMILES
You’re coming back from your trip and
your pockets and purses are filled
with foreign currency. Those small coins
will no doubt go into a drawer at home,
and you promise yourself you’ll use
them the next time you go abroad. No
doubt, you’ll forget. Instead, check the
seat pocket in front of you on your
Icelandair flight, and you will find a small
paper envelope marked the Icelandair
Travel Fund for Special Children.
And what exactly does this mean? “ Our
aim is to give long term ill children, and
children living under difficult circum-
stances, a dream holiday accompanied
by their parents and siblings, “ explains
Áslaug Thelma Einarsdóttir, who man-
ages the project. Peggy Helgason, travel
fund board member and the wife of
Icelandair’s CEO Sigurdur Helgason, has
worked with chronically ill children for
decades as an occupational therapist and
with volunteer work at Iceland´s
Children´s Hospital, and it was her idea
to start the fund. Special guardian of the
fund is former Icelandic president Ms
Vigdís Finnbogadóttir. The fund marked
its one year anniversary this spring, and
Einarsdóttir tells me that Icelandair pas-
sengers have donated several million
Icelandic kronur to these needy children
in the form of spare change.
Contributions are also made by the
Frequent Flyer club where people have
the option of donating their frequent
flyer points along with a yearly one mil-
lion krona donation by Icelandair.
Landsbankinn bank handles the fund’s
finances and takes part in the organiza-
tion and management of the fund.
“Children dealing with long-term dis-
eases often dream of experiencing the
holiday of a lifetime. We believe it’s
important for these children to travel
accompanied by their families to
strengthen the family bonds, and we
make sure that all travel expenses and
accommodation are paid, as well as the
airfare.
“It’s not surprising when children
choose a destination, most want to go
to Disneyworld, in Florida… We also
encourage the families to go to an
event, whether it be a concert, a sports
match or any other event that will be
memorable to all.”
Einarsdóttir explains that such a holiday
is a wonderful gift to families that have
gone through incredible pain and hard-
ship since discovering that their child is
gravely ill. “The parents of these kids
are under so much strain. Their world
has been turned upside down. Often,
one or both parents need to quit their
jobs to provide their child with the med-
ical attention he or she needs. Siblings
also need to cope with a changed reali-
ty and often have to take on extra
responsibilities or feel left out, and on
top of all that there’s a real struggle to
make ends meet. I’ve had parents burst-
ing into tears when I’ve announced to
them that their family is getting a dream
trip with the airline. I sincerely hope that
we can continue helping families create
happy memories that they will treasure
for the rest of their lives.”
Icelandair’s new project, The Travel Fund for Special Children,
enables children with long-term illnesses to go on the holiday
of their dreams accompanied by their loved ones.
Áslaug Thelma Einarsdóttir at Icelandair corporate public rela-
tions explained to Anna Margrét Björnsson how a little spare
change can bring a whole lot of happiness.
Above main photo: CEO Sigurdur Helgason(left) and Icelandair staff
with the families that first received a dream holiday from Icelandair.
Above: CEO Sigurdur Helgason and his wife Peggy, Landsbanki
Managing Director HalldórJón Kristjánsson and Ragnhildur
Geirsdóttir, SVP Icelandair and Chairman of the Travel Fund Board.
060 vildarbörn 22.6.2004 17:43 Page 60