Toad Hall Toys helps WestJet make 'miracles' in Winnipeg
The company is aiming to perform 12,000 acts of kindness — one for every WestJet employee
WestJet's day of mini miracles hit Winnipeg with a shopping spree at Toad Hall Toys, a stop at Siloam Mission and a visit to a pet shelter on Wednesday.
The company's blue-hatted elves loaded up a van with gifts from Toad Hall and delivered them to the Christmas Cheer Board's Tower of Toys at The Forks.
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They also handed out scarves and mittens at the Siloam homeless shelter, where they helped serve lunch as well.
The Winnipeg events were part of the Calgary-headquartered airline's day of "mini miracles." The company is aiming to perform 12,000 acts of kindness — one for every WestJet employee — across its international network, from Canada and the United States to Costa Rica and England.
"Mini miracles" range from giving away free hot beverages to shoveling sidewalks, helping the elderly with groceries, purchasing tickets to community attractions, paying parking fees, handing out umbrellas and blankets, and providing meals to charitable groups, WestJet stated in a press release.
During their morning excursions in Winnipeg, the WestJet crew stopped at a bus shelter near Polo Park Shopping Centre and handed out hot chocolate and snacks.
In the afternoon, they headed to D'Arcy's A.R.C., a pet rescue shelter, to drop off supplies and enjoy some playtime with the animals.
All the while, WestJet's blue Santa was hopping aboard a Boeing 737 to travel across the country, taking part in a trip up the CN Tower in Toronto, a caroling parade on Stephen Avenue in Calgary, a dogsled ride to Beck's Kennels in Yellowknife and a trip to Ronald McDonald House in Vancouver.
A command centre was set up at WestJet's headquarters in Calgary to track Santa's travels across the country and monitor the miracles.
Canadians were encouraged to perform their own acts of kindness and post them to Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #WestJetChristmas. Those acts of kindness will be added to the WestJet total.
"I suppose that the evidence would be that they've done it for a few years running, and if it wasn't working they wouldn't go to the level of investment that they're going to, so clearly it's working for them," said Peter George, president of CEO of McKim Communications Group in Winnipeg.
"Anything that can get you positive exposure and make a positive emotional connection with your target audience is going to help your brand."
A WestJet spokesperson told CBC News that the airline's 2013 campaign boosted revenue by 86 per cent and raised the number of bookings by 77 per cent over the previous year.