Thanks: Giving Hope: WestJet & Hope Air
WestJet Cares for Kids was launched March 2007 providing donations of the gift of flight and helping eight partners, such as Hope Air, deliver essential programs to the patients they serve, raise funds and reduce the cost of their business travel.
In addition to providing Hope Air with the gift of flight, in 2018 WestJet chose to aim the spotlight on this valued charity partner to bring awareness to the critical service they provide, as well as to increase support for their mission to provide Canadians in financial need with free travel to medical care far from home.
The concept was to give a program recipient the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to someone who made a significant difference while she was on her health journey in a Thanksgiving-themed and timed “WestJet Thanks” content piece as an engaging and inspiring way to inform Canadians, guests and WestJetters about Hope Air.
WestJet was instantly inspired when introduced to longtime Hope Air patient Leora Wildi. Leora, who is now 23 years old, was diagnosed with two types of bone cancer at the age of 14. Her cancer treatment caused serious and life-long complications that has required more than 50 trips from her hometown of Prince George, B.C., to Vancouver for specialized medical care. Due to Leora’s mobility and hip issues she is unable to make the 780km (484 miles) drive to Vancouver so flying was her only option.
Cancer-free for eight years and counting, WestJet gave Leora the opportunity to speak out about how Hope Air played an integral part in her recovery. While doing so, she was also able to thank some of those who helped her on her health journey.
The video was soft-launched on WestJet’s YouTube channel one day early, giving subscribers, as well as WestJet and Hope Air stakeholders, the opportunity to be early adopters by watching and sharing it with their networks. The video was featured across WestJet and Hope Air channels, email blasts and social networks and resulted in 1,642,137 video views and 11,223 social engagements.
Following the release of “WestJet Thanks: Giving hope” video Hope Air reported an increase in traffic to their website, as wells as in social media followers and engagements.
See their award winning video below.