Here at Delta during the month of October, you’d be hard pressed to walk 5 minutes without seeing something pink. Pink plane, pink lemonade, pink uniforms, pink jelly beans, pink iPhone app and more! In fact, if you found yourself in Terminal T at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport yesterday morning, you may have noticed a gatehouse swarming with more than 100 energetic women decked out in their finest pink dresses, T-shirts, and yes—even glittery pink cowboy boots.

These women, all Delta employees and breast cancer survivors, were preparing for the departure of a special charter flight from Atlanta to Detroit and Minneapolis on Delta’s pink 767-400 airplane. Delta CEO Richard Anderson and other executives joined employees for the pink plane charter flight, which celebrated the group’s resilience and also kicked off Delta’s 6th year of fundraising for The Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

As employees deplaned in Detroit and Minneapolis, their colleagues greeted them with thunderous applause, cheers, and tears. During the flight, survivors mingled and celebrated their personal triumphs over the disease by sharing their stories on the PA system and in journals that were passed around the airplane. More than anything, the survivors said the memory that will stay with them is the indescribable feeling of connecting with other members of their Delta family who have been through a similar battle.

How can you help? Here are a few ways customers can support Delta’s BCRF efforts during the month of October:

• Pink Lemonade: As in past years, Delta flight attendants will don limited-edition pink dresses and pink uniform accessories, and you can order pink lemonade onboard all flights with 100% of the proceeds going to the BCRF.
• Jelly Beans! New this year is the opportunity to purchase BCRF-branded pink Jelly Belly ‘Sport Beans’ onboard.
• Facebook: Starting Oct. 7, Facebook users can create their own virtual pink lemonade stand on Delta’s Facebook page to share their stories, honor loved ones and donate to the BCRF.
• Text: Donate $5 to the BCRF by texting “DRINKPINK” to 27722 (standard text rates apply).
• iPhone App! All this month users of Delta’s free iPhone app can help fight breast cancer. Each time a user downloads the app or uses it to check in for a flight, Delta will donate 100 miles to the BCRF, up to one million miles.

So what exactly have we done for BCRF here at Delta? In the first five years of the campaign, Delta raised $2.5 million for the BCRF, including $1 million in 2009. To date, Delta’s donations have funded the work of nine research projects dedicated to prevention and finding a cure for breast cancer.

Be sure to check out our video of the day’s events and view more photos on our Facebook page!

How will you help Delta take flight for the fight against breast cancer this year?

Rachel Welford

Specialist, Corporate Communications