Virgin Australia donates thousands of essential supplies to people in need

A Virgin Australia cabin crew member hands a basket of food to a man and two children outside a yellow van with the OzHarvest logo
Image from Virgin Australia
Kami White
by Kami White
31 March 2020

The impact of COVID-19 on the aviation industry has grounded a large portion of Virgin Australia’s fleet, but the team are dedicated to helping vulnerable Australians until they are back up in the skies.

The airline has turned April Fool’s Day on its head this year to donate thousands of toilet paper rolls from over 125 grounded aircraft to communities in need.

The supplies will be donated to Virgin Australia’s community partners, such as The Salvation Army; and for every toilet roll collected, Kleenex will match the donation to double the positive impact.

Responding to the news, Major Bruce Harmer from The Salvation Army said: “It’s so wonderful to see such a strong community spirit in the team at Virgin Australia. The Salvation Army will ensure any donation of toilet paper reaches the older and vulnerable people in our communities during this unprecedented time of need.”

This isn’t the only way Virgin Australia has been supporting people in need since the outbreak of COVID-19. The airline is building upon their existing partnership with charity OzHarvest, and have donated 6,000 excess meals to hungry Australians this week alone. This surplus food will divert three tonne of food from landfill and includes award-winning meals from the airline’s business class menus and airport lounges.

Four plates of food
Image from Virgin Australia

OzHarvest and Virgin Australia have been working together for five years now to donate more than 1.6 million meals to help people and communities in need. With the airline’s operations scheduled to resume on June 14th 2020, Virgin Australia’s community spirit is set to endure for many years to come.

Visit the Virgin Australia website for more information on their community efforts and airline operations.