Airline honors veterans with $10K donation to K9s for Warriors

Spirit Airlines also announces 2 new nonstop routes from Jacksonville

Provided by Spirit Airlines

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Spirit Airlines' charitable foundation donated $10,000 to K9s for Warriors on Monday in honor of Veterans Day.

The Ponte Vedra Beach-based nonprofit is dedicated to rescuing dogs and specially training them for veterans in need.

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“We want to make it clear that Spirit Airlines is dedicated to giving back to the communities where we work and serve,” said Laurie Villa, Spirit Airlines’ senior vice president and chief human resources officer. “We applaud our nation’s veterans for their service and sacrifice and we will continue to support them.”

Spirit announced in September that it would be bringing its ultra-low fares to Jacksonville for the first time with daily nonstop service to Detroit Metropolitan Airport and Chicago O’Hare International Airport starting Dec. 20.

The airline announced Monday that it will be adding nonstop service from Jacksonville to Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.

“We are proud to welcome Spirit Airlines to our home market here in Jacksonville,” said K9s for Warriors chief marketing officer Tahoma Guiry. “We are incredibly grateful for community-oriented partners like Spirit Airlines who recognize the life-changing work taking place at K9s for Warriors. Thanks to their generous support, we are able to rescue more dogs and empower more service members with the invisible wounds of war return to civilian life with dignity and independence.”

Spirit is also taking part in K9s for Warriors' online social media campaign #K9sPoochSmooch. The campaign is designed to bring attention to the need for these specially trained service animals and promote donations by posting photos of people kissing their canine companions. 

Spirit will be use its social media channels to promote the cause. On Twitter and Instagram the airline can be found @SpiritAirlines and on Facebook at facebook.com/SpiritAirlines.


About the Author:

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.