Being a good neighbor to the communities surrounding the Bob Hope Airport has been a priority for more than three decades. So far the Airport has spent over $80 million insulating homes and schools in Burbank and Los Angeles, having a positive effect on thousands of lives in the process. In addition, by working closely with local schools, civic and community groups, elected officials as well as local businesses and residents, the Airport has been able to reach out in many ways to improve the quality of life of families and individuals who live and work near the Airport. Below are the major health, educational, civic and community organizations, and events the Airport is proud to support.
Airport District Blood Drive
The Airport District Blood Drive draws over 100 people who donate blood every summer to replenish badly needed supplies at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills and Providence Tarzana Medical Center. Airline employees, hotel workers, parking attendants, travelers and others roll up their sleeves to give blood.
‘Tower Banner’ Art Contest
The Airport sponsors an annual “Tower Banner” art contest for high school students in the Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena unified school districts. Based on a particular theme, school art educators and city public art commissions pick the winners, which are hung 17-by-26-feet- size on the Airport main tower where they are seen by millions of travelers and Airport visitors. Second- and third-place winners are displayed in a busy hallway. In addition, the Airport presents each school district with a $2,500 check to promote and enhance art education.
Read Across America Day
As part of the National Education Association’s Read Across America Day, the Airport recruits airline employees and Airport tenants — including pilots, flight attendants, airline station managers and ramp workers, and Transportation Security Administration agents — to read to students at Bret Harte Elementary School. The employees also talk about how important reading is to their particular jobs and lives.
Boys and Girls Clubs
In partnership with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Bob Hope Airport supports the Boys & Girls Club of Burbank. Club members’ artwork is displayed on the tops of the stanchions at the security checkpoint, allowing passengers to admire the drawings while in line waiting to proceed through security. The Airport also conducts tours for the club, highlighted by the numerous display cases in the terminal illustrating Airport’s colorful history since 1930.
‘Burbank on Parade’ Festival
For the yearly “Burbank on Parade” festival, the airport wheels out one of its aircraft rescue firefighting vehicles along the parade route. It also holds a summer Airport fieldtrip for 80-plus Express Campers from Robert Gross Park in Burbank with a full-bore demonstration of firefighting and police vehicles, along with a chance to see jet aircraft and helicopters up close. And all this is topped off with a pizza party in a real airplane hangar.
‘Healthy Kids Day’
The Airport supports the Burbank YMCA, especially during the organization’s “Healthy Kids Day,” by providing information and tips on traveling with children. It also works with “Leadership Burbank,” an organization that holds a nine-month course centered on learning leaderships skills and the ins and outs of city hall, nonprofits, and numerous community resources including the Airport. It supports the “Starlight Bowl” summer concert series. And it backs the Family Service Agency “Care Walk of Burbank,” which provides free or low-cost counseling and other psychological services to adults and students.
Holiday Food Basket Program
Along with its tenants — the airlines, rental car companies, food and beverage purveyors, and news and gift shops — the Airport adopts needy families for Burbank’s “Holiday Food Basket Program.”
In short, the Bob Hope Airport participates in and supports a variety of activities and organizations. Besides being a vital economic engine in the area, it devotes time, talent and resources to building bridges and offering benefits to the community. And, in the process, the Airport has truly become a good neighbor to many people throughout Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena as well as nearby areas of Los Angeles.
