North Pole Flights on Delta and United

For your feel good story of the weekend, Delta and United have been offering flights to the north pole for young children suffering from various diseases at Shriners and Children's Hospitals. I saw this last year when I arrived at Salt Lake and the whole atmosphere was focused on the kids and Santa. Really happy that these families get to spend time together with the help of the airlines.

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SALT LAKE CITY — A couple dozen good little boys and girls and their families flew with Delta Air Lines to the North Pole on Saturday.

At least that's what many of them thought they were doing.

Turns out, Delta's hangar doubles as a winter wonderland. And Delta employees, who volunteered their time to be a part of it all, make pretty good elves.

"I'm just blown away," said Mari Hogelin, of Draper. "It's just amazing. It's been a cool ride."

Her daughter, Stella, 7, has cerebral palsy and has been undergoing therapy at Shriners Hospital for Children to help her walk. "She's to the point where a lot of people don't know she has a problem with it," Mari Hogelin said.

For five years, Delta has turned one of its local hangars into a place where kids can be kids, where everyone understands what they're going through and where the family can spend time together.

"There are so many times with these kids when everything has to be separate, taking them to appointments, it's hard," said Laura Hollingshead, a recreation therapist at Shriners. She said Delta helps to "create one of those life-changing, memorable experiences" for everyone involved.

Flight staff sang carols and told jokes, served snacks and prepared the group, which included parents and siblings of about 30 child patients at Shriners and Primary Children's Hospital, for landing. For many of them, it was their first airplane ride, and, while the plane never left the ground, the magic of it all showed on their faces.

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