Nearly 850 Southwest Pilots are volunteering in this year's Adopt-A-Pilot(R) program. During the four-week long curriculum, Pilots volunteer their time in participating classrooms and correspond from the "road" via e-mail and postcards. Classrooms chart their adopted Pilot's course on an official United States route map and complete lessons related to the Pilot's monthly flying schedule. To learn more about the program visit their blog. 

"Our commitment to the cities that we serve goes well beyond the ticket counter. From the skies to the classrooms, more than 800 Pilots are volunteering this year, serving nearly 1,500 classrooms. I'm a proud participant, and enjoy the rewards of volunteering," said Captain Chuck Magill, Southwest Airlines Vice President of Flight Operations.  

Beyond the program's core mentorship and curriculum-based activities, Adopt-A-Pilot includes many other innovative learning opportunities. Created in 1997, Adopt-A-Pilot(R) started as a community outreach program in just 50 classrooms in Southwest's destination cities, and has grown to reach more than 1,400 classrooms in communities nationwide.  

To date, the program has been offered to more than 300,000 students nationwide. Southwest Airlines developed the program in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Education and the Smithsonian Institution of National Air and Space Museum. National leaders such as Gen. Colin Powell, President Bill Clinton, and First Lady Laura Bush have recognized the excellence that the Adopt-A-Pilot program offers students.