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Southwest Airlines Community

Our Five New Heart of the Community Public Spaces

lhoagland
Employee
Employee


At Southwest, our Purpose is to connect People to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel. As the airline with a heart, that commitment extends far beyond the skies and deep into the cities we serve, where our support of vibrant public spaces is having positive and lasting effects on communities. The Southwest Airlines Heart of the Community program focuses on reimagining public spaces as the true hearts of communities. By boosting community participation in the creation, design, and unique programming of public spaces, they become central gathering places where everyone feels welcome. Today, with a little help from our 2016 Heart of the Community grant recipients and Southwest Employees from across the country, we are pleased to announce our new favorite public spaces:  Atlanta, Georgia; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles, California; Indianapolis, Indiana; and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Atlanta, GA - Woodruff Park (Left to right) Angela Allen, ATL Customer Service Agent, Renee Perdue Rucker, Central Atlanta Progress and Monique Townsend, ATL Station Services Coordinator
Philadelphia, PA – City Hall Courtyard (Left to right) Mel King, PHL Ramp Agent, Emily Gowen, The Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia, Marsha Clarke, PHL Customer Service Agent, and Stephanie Chiorean, City of Philadelphia
Indianapolis, IN – City Market & Monument Circle Pictured from left to right is Stevi Stoesz , Indianapolis City Market, Bryan Martin, IND Station Manager, Angela Shockley, IND Customer Service Supervisor and Jim Walker, Big Car Collaborative
Indianapolis, IN – City Market & Monument Circle
(Left to right) Stevi Stoesz , Indianapolis City Market and Bryan Martin, IND Station Manager
Indianapolis, IN – City Market & Monument Circle Angela Shockley, IND Customer Service Supervisor and Jim Walker, Big Car Collaborative
Indianapolis, IN – City Market & Monument Circle
Angela Shockley, IND Customer Service Supervisor and Jim Walker, Big Car Collaborative.
Minneapolis, MN – 5 to 10 on Hennepin (Left to right) Nikki Rodriguez, MSP Customer Service Supervisor and Shannon Haynes, MSP Customer Service Supervisor

What’s YOUR favorite public space? Tell us in the comments below and you may see your answer in an upcoming issue of Southwest: The Magazine!  In 2014, Southwest launched the Heart of the Community program, which awards grants to create public spaces in the hearts of communities served by the airline. With the addition of the five newly announced grant recipients, the program has supported 18 innovative and transformative projects. To learn more, visit pps.org/Heart-of-the-Community. Featured photo above: Los Angeles, CA – Pershing Square (Left to right) Pauline Morris-Ewing, LAX Customer Service Supervisor, Eduardo Santana and Alex Sasayama, Pershing Square Renew, and Pearl Mapu, LAX Station Administrator