Charities struggling due to dearth of frequent-flier donations

PHOENIX -- The Make-A-Wish Foundation and other charities say they are scrambling to find ways to send ailing children on dream vacations because of a sharp decline in frequent-flier miles donated through the nation's airlines.

"I don't know if it's Sept. 11 or if people just aren't flying much, but the miles are running out," said David Kaplan, executive director of A Wish With Wings in Arlington, Texas.

The pinch began about three years ago when some airlines eliminated frequent flier mile expiration dates, allowing passengers to hang on to them indefinitely. Some groups say declining business travel since Sept. 11 has exacerbated the problem.

Phoenix-based Make-A-Wish, which grants about 10,000 wishes a year to children with life-threatening illnesses, has felt the pinch the most.

At least 60 percent of the wishes the organization grants involve travel, but the foundation has seen the number of its frequent-flier mile donations drop by 50 percent in the last three years, spokeswoman Anne Strauss said.

"In some cases, chapters have to go into their own budget to purchase tickets that previously they would have had donated," she said. "So it's costing us more and it has actually increased the costs of our travel wishes."

The organization's Los Angeles chapter is sending Erika Monfiero, 9, and her family to Disney World in Orlando, Fla., in June -- with or without frequent flier miles.

"We have to pay for her tickets ourselves," chapter spokeswoman Shelley Ginsburg said. "But there's never any concern of whether the wishes can be granted."

Kaplan, whose organization grants about 50 wishes a year to sick children, also said A Wish With Wings would never turn a child away.

Some airlines also donate miles directly to charities. America West Airlines said it donated 20 million miles to charity last year under a limited program.

Spokeswoman Patty Nowack noted that in recent months, many free miles were being donated to groups like the Red Cross rather than children's charities.

"We're presuming that's in relationship to the events of Sept. 11," she said.

At the Starlight Children's Foundation, executive director Katherine Culpepper said the organization has sufficient miles to grant its usual 2,000 wishes a year. But she said she fears some children's families put off their dream vacations after Sept. 11, and once things return to normal, Starlight might not get enough donated miles.

In a regular year, she said, the charity needs about 7 million air miles.

She and other officials in the industry are clinging to the hope that frequent fliers will begin giving again soon.

"If they have miles that they're accumulating, they can be put to really good use if they're not using them," Kaplan said.

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On the Net:

Make-A-Wish Foundation: http://www.wish.org

Starlight Children's Foundation: http://www.starlight.org

A Wish With Wings: http://www.awishwithwings.org