Hours volunteered since 2021:
A horizontal bar chart representing our hours volunteered from where we are in 2024 to where we were in 2021.
- 2024: 64,024 hours
- 2023: 50,045 hours
- 2022: 26,143 hours
- 2021: 11,627 hours
Key highlights:
- 18 Special Olympics Service Ambassadors working in our airports.
- 13 Fantasy Flights flown during the holiday season, creating a memorable day filled with joy, gifts, food and entertainment for children across the world, including many Make-A-Wish families and those suffering from serious medical conditions.
Special Olympics
Our partnership with Special Olympics began in 2018, and we continued to grow our relationship in 2024. The heart of this partnership lies within the athletes supported by Special Olympics and we’re proud to foster opportunities for them to grow into their leadership potential.
As sponsors of the 2024 Capitol Hill Day, United supported Special Olympics athletes advocating for Unified Sports funding for high schools. These athletes led more than 250 face-to-face meetings with Members of Congress in both the House and Senate, requesting the support of education and health initiatives for people with intellectual disabilities (ID).
Our Special Olympics Service Ambassador (SOSA) program launched during National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) in 2019 at Chicago O’Hare Airport (ORD).
SOSAs are part-time employees who are generally stationed to support and help customers in the airport lobby area.
In 2024 we celebrated the fifth anniversary of the program, hosting all the SOSAs for a professional development summit at ORD.
We also funded a summer internship program with the American Association of People with Disabilities, providing college students, graduate students, law students and recent graduates with all types of disabilities, paid summer internships with Congressional offices, federal agencies, nonprofit and for-profit organizations.