SEATTLE, July 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Two Seattle celebrities are going head-to-head to
raise money to end childhood cancer. On July
28, Alaska's Chief Football
Officer Russell Wilson and
Joel McHale, star of Yahoo!'s
Community and E!'s The Soup, will captain two teams competing to
see which can pull a 92,000-pound Alaska Airlines 737-800 25 feet
in the shortest amount of time.
"Alaska and Russell have been
partnering to support Strong Against Cancer since its beginning.
Over the past eight months, Alaska
has donated $175,000 to support
Strong," said Sangita Woerner,
Alaska's vice president of
marketing. "We are excited to have Joel return to his hometown to
join our cause, given his deep personal connections with the
Seattle area. We can't wait to
cheer them both on, and win or lose, we are all on Team
Strong."
While Wilson and McHale are showing their competitive stripes to
win the title of "2015 Plane Pull Champion," the broader goal of
the event is to build national awareness and raise money for Strong
Against Cancer, a multi-year initiative dedicated to ending
childhood cancer. Funds raised go directly to research in
immunotherapy treatments developed by the Ben Towne Center for
Childhood Cancer Research at Seattle Children's Research Institute.
In clinical trials, this breakthrough treatment has had a 91
percent success rate.
Wilson, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks, and McHale, who
grew up in Mercer Island and
played football for the University of
Washington, will spend the next three weeks forming their
dream teams from a combination of Alaska's finest maintenance and engineering
employees and winners of a contest now open to Washington residents on Alaska's Facebook
page. Later this month, Alaska's
Seattle-area Mileage Plan members
will be invited via email to purchase tickets to cheer on their
favorite team from the bleachers. All proceeds will benefit
Strong Against Cancer.
Fans are encouraged to vote for their favorite team by texting
"TEAMJOEL" or "TEAMRUSSELL" to 501501 to donate $10 to Strong Against Cancer,* and follow along
with the fun using the hashtag #AlaskaPlanePull on Twitter and
Instagram. [Texting charges may apply depending on the
carrier.]
Wilson was named Alaska's
honorary CFO – 'Chief Football Officer' – in 2013. Together, the
airline and the quarterback are engaging with Alaska's customers and supporting youth in the
community through events like the Russell Wilson Passing Academy,
as well as the efforts with Strong Against Cancer.
Alaska Airlines, a subsidiary of Alaska Air Group (NYSE: ALK),
together with its partner regional airlines, serves more than 100
cities through an expansive network in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Alaska Airlines ranked "Highest in
Customer Satisfaction Among Traditional Carriers in North America" in the J.D. Power North
American Airline Satisfaction Study for eight consecutive years
from 2008 to 2015. Alaska Airlines' Mileage Plan also ranked
"Highest in Customer Satisfaction with Airline Loyalty Rewards
Programs" in the J.D. Power 2014 and 2015 Airline Loyalty/Rewards
Program Satisfaction Report. For reservations, visit
www.alaskaair.com. For more news and information, visit Alaska
Airlines' newsroom at www.alaskaair.com/newsroom.
Strong Against Cancer is a nationwide initiative inspired by the
immunotherapy discoveries at the Ben Towne Center for Childhood
Cancer Research at Seattle Children's Research Institute. This
initiative is a team effort on the part of hospitals, researchers,
doctors, nurses, corporations, organizations and individuals. The
captain of the team is Russell
Wilson, quarterback of the Super Bowl champion Seattle
Seahawks, who learned about immunotherapy during his regular visits
to Seattle Children's Hospital. Clinical trials for this therapy
are now underway and are producing exceptional results in
eliminating childhood leukemia. The aim of the Strong Against
Cancer team is to create a national philanthropic initiative with
worldwide implications for curing childhood cancers through these
immunotherapy treatments. For more information or to make a
donation, visit strongagainstcancer.org.
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
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SOURCE Alaska Airlines