Flying to Vienna will help Big Brothers Big Sisters!

Airline uses celebration of direct flights to Vienna as fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters

Chicago, IL – October 15, 2013 – Austrian Airlines and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago announced today a partnership to help change the lives of children in local Chicago communities through dedicated mentors.

“Big Brothers Big Sisters helps local kids succeed,” said Sandra Bijelic, spokeswoman for Austrian Airlines. “We can’t think of a better way to get involved in the community than to help Chicago children realize their potential and build their futures.”

“Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago is thrilled to partner with Austrian Airlines on this initiative,” says Art Mollenhauer, Chief Executive Officer. “We applaud Austrian Airlines for their corporate citizenship and appreciate the opportunity to match more children in need with positive, caring adult mentors as a result.”

To celebrate Austrian Airlines’ motto of “We fly for your smile” and their new direct flights from Chicago to Vienna, Austrian Airlines and Vienna Airport are hosting an interactive fundraiser for Big Brothers Big Sisters. Austrian Airlines will construct a giant wall of magnets with the word “smile” in 10 languages. As people remove the magnets from the wall, a message from Austrian Airlines will be revealed.

This wall of “smiles” will also raise needed funds for Big Brothers Big Sisters. For every “smile” magnet taken, Austrian Airlines will donate one dollar, up to $10,000, to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago.

As part of the partnership, participating children and their adult volunteers will decorate one side of the wall with personal drawings of what makes them smile. Youth in Big Brothers Big Sisters Site Based Mentoring Program will create artwork to decorate the wall.

In addition to the $10,000 donation, Austrian Airlines and Vienna Airport will give one lucky winner two roundtrip tickets on an Austrian Airlines’ direct flight from Chicago to Vienna. At The Smile Wall people can take pictures with their “smile” magnet and load the photo to www.thesmilewall.com to enter to win. For anyone who can’t make it to the actual wall, they can post a photo of their best smile on the site in order to enter.

The fundraising event will take place at two Chicago locations over three days.
• October 19th and 20th at the Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg
• October 21st at Pioneer Court on Michigan Avenue in Downtown Chicago

Austrian Airlines now flies direct to Vienna from Chicago five times a week, opening up the heart of Europe.
• Over 130 connections available through the Vienna airport to Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
• New, ergonomically designed seats make the trip more comfortable.
• High quality and friendly service sets Austrian Airlines apart

For more information contact:
Austrian Airlines
Josephine Parr
joey@josephineparr.com
646-734-6449

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Chicago helps children realize their potential and build their futures. The organization nurtures children, strengthens communities and believes that inherent in every child is the ability to succeed and thrive in life. As Metro Chicago’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network, Big Brothers Big Sisters makes meaningful, monitored matches between adult volunteers (“Bigs”) and children (“Littles”). By providing a system of ongoing evaluation and support, Big Brothers Big Sisters is proven by independent studies to help youth and families. This system ensures that the children enrolled in the programs will perform better in school, avoid violence and illegal activities, and have stronger relationships with their parents and peers.

Austrian Airlines
Austrian Airlines is Austria’s largest carrier and operates a global route network of round 130 destinations. That route network is particularly dense in Central and Eastern Europe with 43 destinations. Thanks to its favorable geographical location at the heart of Europe, the company’s hub at Vienna International Airport is the ideal gateway between East and West. Austrian Airlines is part of the Lufthansa Group, Europe’s largest airline group, and a member of the Star Alliance, the first global alliance of international airlines. The flight operation of the Austrian Airlines Group has been bundled at its 100% subsidiary Tyrolean Airways since 1st July, 2012.