On this page:
KLM AirCares
We focus on four areas, each with its own clear focus:
- education
- environment
- art & culture
- KLM AirCares.
As a result of this focus, we are sometimes compelled to turn away charitable causes that we also find important.
Projects
With AirCares, KLM aims to support the millennium goals. Every year, AirCares intensively supports four different projects for a period of three months. We offer financial support, thanks to the donations of our frequent flyers, but also lend a helping hand in the form of free tickets, publicity at Schiphol Airport, special events, and publicity via our internal media and our inflight magazine Holland Herald.
MKI – Medical Knowledge Institute
The Medical Knowledge Institute (MKI) is an international non-profit health care organisation that focuses on education and information provision. MKI believes that health care is a human right and, under the slogan ‘Prevention through Education’, has defined a clear goal: to improve the living conditions of the people of southern Africa through providing education and information to the local population and service providers in the area of health care.
Cycling Blue for Kenya
To celebrate KLMs 90th anniversary in 2009, KLM AirCares sponsored the Cycling Out of Poverty Foundation. Staff and passengers were both involved, donating money and miles and generating over € 80,000.
The project, Cycling Blue for Kenya, involved offering micro credits to families to either start a bicycle taxi business or purchase bicycles for their children to help them get to school. In addition, KLM launched a new sustainability scheme, also financed through micro credits: bicycle repair shops. The project paid for the construction of facilities and the training of 75 people.
Close the Gap
Close the Gap strives to close the digital gap between rich and poor countries by making used computers (donated by companies) suitable for re-use in developing countries.
Structural support
Besides the quarterly projects KLM AirCares also supports two structural projects. Under the name of ‘Doctor 2 Doctor – Flying Expertise Overseas’, the pediatric department of the VU Medical Center in Amsterdam and KLM AirCares work together to sustainably improve medical care for children in Kenya. With KLM's help, medical staff from the VUmc travel to Kenya, volunteering to help colleagues at the Moi Referral and Teaching Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya to help them broaden their medical skills.
Individual projects
Individual projects initiated by KLM business units, departments, and staff can count on the appreciation and support of the company. For instance, in the form of a website where they can share information and experiences.
