Atlantica - 01.12.2006, Page 69

AT L A N T I CA 67
ICELAND a
communicate with laughter and smiles or tears
and grimaces. The advanced care he requires
means a “regular” family vacation is not an
option.
Or so Sigrídur thought.
In August 2005, Hrafnkell and his family trav-
eled to Florida courtesy of the Icelandair Special
Children Travel Fund (Vildarbörn in Icelandic,
from the name of the Vildarklúbbur frequent
flyer club). The Fund was established in 2003,
based on an idea of Peggy Helgason’s, wife of
former Icelandair CEO Sigurdur Helgason, who
works with terminally ill children. The Fund
sends children suffering from long term illness or
disease, and their families, to one of Icelandair’s
22 destinations on an all-expenses paid trip.
Orlando, with its tropical weather and Disney
World, is the most popular choice.
“I never thought we would be able to travel
as a normal family,” says Sigrídur. When she
became aware of the Icelandair Special Children
Travel Fund, Sigrídur applied for a trip, which
was awarded in April 2004 at one of two annual
ceremonies where recipients of the travel fund
and organizers meet each other.
It’s up to the children to pick their own des-
tination. “[Hrafnkell’s older brother] Björn Leví
picked Orlando for Hrafnkell,” explains Sigrídur.
“That was the only place we figured he would
really enjoy seeing.” The Fund provides for
the whole family to go on the dream vacation,
including flights, hotels, admission fees and a
daily allowance.
Vildarbörn is funded by donations from
Icelandair’s passengers. Áslaug Thelma
Einarsdóttir, Director of Corporate Communi-
cations at Icelandair and manager of Vildarbörn,
says that the program would not be possible
without the teamwork between the airline and
the passengers and their generous donations.
“When a child becomes ill, the situation often
forces parents to change their work habits, and in
many cases they need to quit their jobs to be able
to support the child physically and emotionally,”
says Áslaug. “It helps a lot to be able to get away
from it all and enjoy bringing the family back
together on a holiday. It’s amazing to be a part of
this and see how much we can do to help.”
Áslaug has been been involved with Vildarbörn
Icelandair since its foundation in 2003. Her inter-
“I never thought we would
be able to travel as a
normal family,”
Hrafnkell and his cousin at Disney World.
Jack, a recipient from the UK,
visited the set of LazyTown.
050-94ICELANDAtl606.indd 67 18.10.2006 23:11:50