One flight school in Arizona celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday by hosting a huge dinner for its hundreds of international students. TransPac Aviation Academy in Phoenix hosted the dinner at Deer Valley Airport not only to give its students a taste a traditional Thanksgiving celebration, but also to help the local community.
For two weeks prior to the event, TransPac spearheaded a food drive and donated all the items to St. Vincent de Paul, a charitable organization that helps hungry and homeless people in central and western Arizona. What’s more, TransPac hired St. Vincent de Paul to cater the Thanksgiving meal.
“For many of our students, this will be their first time participating in a traditional U.S. Thanksgiving celebration,” said TransPac CEO Nader Yassa. “We thought since we were going to put on a Thanksgiving meal anyway, why not have that meal’s cost actually raise money for such a worthwhile charity?”
Few flight schools are in a financial position to treat their students and staff to a full Thanksgiving meal and hire a charity to cater the event. But there are many ways in which a flight school can support its community. Numerous opportunities crop up around the holidays, such as Toys for Tots and Salvation Army campaigns. Other year-round opportunities include collecting canned goods and other nonperishable items for the local food bank, and sponsoring a local sports team.
