Quality healthcare is one of the core foundations of our society, but not all kids have the chance to make snow angels or go sledding with their friends during winter. For parents of children who need advanced medical treatments, travel away from their hometown for healthcare from a specialized hospital may be an additional worry.

Fortunately, there’s a program available through the Air Canada Foundation to help families. Providing hundreds of airline seats each year, the charity’s hospital transportation program transports children requiring specialized medical attention to the pediatric facilities best-suited to their needs. It provides Aeroplan Miles to 15 pediatric hospitals across Canada, giving children and their parents access to advanced medical treatments in centres unavailable in their community.

Bringing a child from a remote region to pediatric hospital involves lots of costs, including food and hotels. But the donated flights help alleviate travel costs for families and offer some financial peace of mind to parents who also may have to take unpaid leave from work, allowing them to focus on their child’s well-being and giving them one less thing to worry about during a very stressful time in their lives.

To help more families in need, the Foundation partners with Aeroplan to allow members to donate their miles toward the cause. Donations have a direct impact on the well-being of sick children and their families, and make a great gift during the holidays or other special occasions.

“Each year, hundreds of Canadian families count on the Hospital Transportation Program to ease part of their financial burden at a time when they need to focus their attention on the health and well-being of their child. We are grateful to be able to do more thanks to the generosity of Aeroplan members,” says Priscille Leblanc, chair, Air Canada Foundation.  

Not travelling this winter? Look for the Air Canada Foundation’ annual Aeroplan matching miles campaign where Aeroplan doubles all miles donated up to 500,000 miles.