Aeroplan to Match Donations to its Ten Beyond Miles Partners

MONTREAL, March 20, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - Aeroplan today announced that it will match all miles donated by members to each of its ten Beyond Miles charitable partners as part of the 2014 Aeroplan Match Days.  Miles will be matched on a 1 for 1 basis up to 500,000 Aeroplan Miles for each partner organization.  This year, each organization has chosen its own match day, week or entire month and in turn, Aeroplan will match miles during the specified period.

To donate miles, members simply visit www.aeroplan.com/donate where they can choose to donate to: The Air Canada Foundation, Earth Day Canada, Engineers Without Borders, Free The Children, Médecins Sans Frontières, MusiCounts, Schools Without Borders, The Stephen Lewis Foundation, Veterinarians Without Borders and War Child Canada.  Each of these ten Canadian organizations is committed to improving lives and enriching communities across Canada and abroad.

"In 2013, more than 11.4 million miles were donated to our Beyond Miles partners during our annual Miles Matching Days," said Kevin O'Brien, Chief Commercial Officer, Aeroplan.  "This is an incredible number thanks to the kindness of our members.  Aeroplan Mile donations have the power to change the lives of children in communities worldwide, to support international development and offset the cost of travel for each of our partner organizations.  Your miles can make a lasting impact!"

Aeroplan's Mile Matching Days will be held during the following timeslots:

• Engineers Without Borders (EWB) - Miles will be matched during the week of March 24-28^th.  Aeroplan Miles make it possible for EWB to join African partners in small business, agriculture, water and governance sectors.
• Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) - Miles will be matched during a 24-hour period on April 16^th.  Last year, MSF used millions of donated miles to fly across Canada and to dozens of countries to support its medical humanitarian mission, to recruit field staff to work overseas, and to raise awareness of the needs of people in crisis.
• The Stephen Lewis Foundation (SLF) - Miles will be matched during a 48-hour period on May 27^th and May 28^th.  In 2013, SLF used the miles to host a people's tribunal - the African Grandmothers Tribunal - to shine a public light on the denial of African grandmothers' human rights: six grandmothers from across sub-Saharan Africa presented their personal testimonies before four Tribunal judges in Vancouver, British Columbia.
• War Child Canada (WCC) - Miles will be matched during the week of June 2 - 8^th.  Last year, WCC used the miles to provide access to training opportunities for international staff working in some of the world's most dangerous regions, and to connect with funders and supporters across the North America.
• Free The Children - Miles will be matched during the entire month of July.  In 2013, Free The Children used the miles for partnership meetings across the country and around the world. The donated miles helped Free The Children make connections with like-minded individuals, companies and groups, which helps them grow.
• MusiCounts - Miles will be matched during the entire month of August.  Last year, MusiCounts used the miles to offset travel costs, allowing them to visit more of the communities their grants impact and enabled artists to participate in fundraising events for MusiCounts.  Miles have helped MusiCounts to put even more instruments into the hands of children who need them.
• Schools Without Borders (SWB) - Miles will be matched during the entire month of September.  Last year, SWB used miles to help launch a number of new learning partnerships including bringing African indigenous educators to Toronto to share ancestral wisdom with the academic community as well as building a partnership with a film called Shadeism, which explores racism, specifically amongst women in communities of colour.
• Earth Day Canada (EDC) - Miles will be matched for the entire month of October.  In 2013, EDC used the miles for transportation of their Hometown Heroes Award winners, general travel (plane, car rentals), accommodations (hotels) and office infrastructure (computers, servers etc.).
• Veterinarians Without Borders (VWB) - Miles will be matched during the entire month of November.  Last year, VWB used the miles to send a team of volunteer veterinarians to Guatemala to provide critical animal health services and to train local vets; they also used miles to send its staff to South Sudan to help protect the livestock of refugees in Upper Nile State.
• The Air Canada Foundation (ACF) - Miles will be matched during the entire month of December.  Aeroplan Miles are used to sustain the Air Canada Foundation Hospital Transportation Program helping children reach medical care not available in their communities.  In 2013, more than 10 million Aeroplan Miles were used by fifteen pediatric hospitals across Canada to help sick children.

Since the program was launched in 2006, more than 361 million Aeroplan Miles have been donated by members.  Beyond Miles partners use Aeroplan Miles to offset costs related to travel by air as well as hotel accommodations and car rentals.  Aeroplan offsets 100 per cent of all carbon emissions from flights taken by Beyond Miles partners using donated miles.  In 2014, Aeroplan donated 1 million miles to each of its partner organizations.  Aeroplan Members can also automatically donate two per cent of all miles accumulated to any Beyond Miles partner of the member's choice.  Members interested in donating two per cent of their Aeroplan Miles simply visit their profile page on aeroplan.com, select the donation opt-in and the Beyond Miles partner they would like their miles to go to.  In addition, Aeroplan also has a Charitable Pooling program that allows members to use miles to support local grass roots charities in need.  More information is available at www.aeroplan.com/donate.

Aeroplan's Beyond Miles program and other community investment initiatives can be found on Twitter.  Follow us at: http://twitter.com/BeyondMiles.

About Aeroplan
Aeroplan, Canada's premier coalition loyalty program, is owned by Aimia Inc., a global leader in loyalty management.

Aeroplan's millions of members earn Aeroplan Miles with its growing network of over 75 world-class partners, representing more than 150 brands in the financial, retail, and travel sectors.

In 2013, approximately 2.3 million rewards were issued to members including more than 1.5 million flights on Air Canada and Star Alliance carriers which offer travel to more than 1,300 destinations worldwide. In addition to flights, members also have access to over 1,000 exciting specialty, merchandise, hotel, car rental and experiential rewards. 

For more information about Aeroplan, please visit www.aeroplan.com or www.aimia.com.

SOURCE Aeroplan