Delta Employees Blanket Salt Lake City Medical Center With Warm Gifts

SALT LAKE CITY, April 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuing a nine-year tradition of putting a quilt on every sick child’s bed, Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) employees today presented Primary Children’s Medical Center in Salt Lake City a gift of more than 1,250 handmade quilts. Each quilt, inspired from art, culture and entertainment, was crafted by airline employees and other volunteers on their own time.

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“A Quilt for Every Bed� project began as a labor of love in 2001 when a few flight attendants and reservationists started patchworking during breaks between flights. Since that time, nearly 10,000 hand-sewn quilts have been donated to the hospital, which treats children with complex illness and injury. Over the years, the project has expanded to include other Delta employees, their families and friends, and companies that have offered support. For example, Carpenter, a Richmond, Va.-based manufacturing company that produces fiber filling for beds, boxes and flooring, read about the project on a Delta flight and donated the batting material (padding) for all of the quilts. Meanwhile, A.E. Nathan Co., a fabric company, donated more than 100 yards of material.

“To watch this project gain momentum and grow each year has been amazing,� said Joanne Smith, Delta’s senior vice president, In-Flight Services. “There’s a great sense of pride in watching our employees initiate and support such a worthy cause in their community.�

With several flight attendants, pilots and airport employees looking on, the quilts were donated today during a ceremony at the hospital. Previously Delta employees had held the event in the local NBA arena displaying thousands of patterned and designed quilts across the seatbacks and playing floor.

“Our hospital has state-of-the-art facilities and technology, but the quilts remind the children of home," said Sharon Goodrich, foundation director, Primary Children’s Medical Center. "Nothing can replace the love that goes into each stitch. Delta is the largest contributor of these quilts and each year Delta is a very big and important contributor to Primary Children's Medical Center."

Primary Children’s Medical Center is the only full-service pediatric hospital in the Intermountain Area, serving the most critically ill and injured children throughout a five-state region. Primary Children’s is one of 14 hospitals in the nation that has met the requirement to be a Trauma I Center for children.

Delta Air Lines is the world’s largest airline. From its hubs in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-JFK, Salt Lake City, Amsterdam and Tokyo-Narita, Delta, its Northwest subsidiary and Delta Connection carriers offer service to 368 destinations in 66 countries and serve more than 170 million passengers each year. Delta’s marketing alliances allow customers to earn and redeem either SkyMiles or WorldPerks on more than 16,000 daily flights offered by SkyTeam and other partners. Delta‘s more than 70,000 employees worldwide are reshaping the aviation industry as the only U.S. airline to offer a full global network. Customers can check in for flights, print boarding passes, check bags and flight status at delta.com .