Delta to make houses for the poor

Delta Airlines plans to build houses for the poor in Maharashtra. For a start, its 40 employees and six regular customers would volunteer to work with the NGO Habitat for Humanity, in what would be social vacations in which they would build six houses.

The beneficiaries would be six families in the Nagewadi village in Karjat in Maharashtra. A further 100 homes will be built in the state of Maharashtra throughout the following year.

The total funds pledged for the programme is $ 100,000. Delta employees are investing their personal time and up to $1,400 of their own money each to be part of the build.

Starting November 12, Delta volunteers would spend four days in Karjat building pukka houses. The six houses will be dedicated on November 15.

This is the first time Delta customers are working side-by-side with Delta employees and Habitat home-owners as part of Delta's first-ever social vacation offer. To participate, SkyMiles customers collectively bid more than 118,000 miles each, which will be donated to Habitat, to participate, the airline official statement says.

The winning packages include round-trip Coach Class airfare for two to Mumbai, seven nights' accommodation, meals, in-country transportation and the opportunity to work with Delta volunteers to bring shelter to Indian families.

The build project is part of Delta's Force for Global Good program which leverages its global network of employees, as well as the assets of Delta's charitable foundation to support the communities where Delta works.

Says Jeff Battcher, vice president, corporate communications for Delta: "There could not have been a better way to celebrate the first anniversary of the world's first nonstop flight between Mumbai and New York JFK. Delta and our employees have a rich heritage of giving back to the communities we serve, and this is the perfect opportunity to partner with our customers, who share that same passion."