It’s a departure from their day job.

“A week ago, I was at my desk looking over financial reports,” laughs Kamrin Helland.

But this week, Kamrin, a marketing leader at Medtronic, finds herself in Puerto Rico with a team full of software engineers, IT technicians, and field reps. 

Typically, they’re behind computer screens and meeting with surgeons. Not scrubbing walls or resealing roofs.

“This is out of our comfort zone,” she says. “But it’s worth it.”

As enchanting as coastal sea oats look, their golden tassels dancing in the ocean breeze from Florida’s Panhandle to North Carolina’s Outer Banks, what lies hidden beneath the sand is even more magical.

The roots of this dainty-looking grass extend as deep as 5 feet below the surface, and literally anchor the dunes in place.

For the fragile barrier islands, sea oats are the first line of defense.

In a cozy room filled with windows, books and cheerful posters, two kindergartners practice letter sounds by playing a picture game on a carpet mat.

A few doors down, third-graders sit in rapt attention – hands rising rapidly to answer questions – while their teacher talks about the primary colors in famous abstract art. Another door opens to a science lesson where children happily bang rocks together to make sand as the classroom snake naps in its glass case.

Giving back is part of JetBlue’s DNA and is core to our mission of inspiring humanity. At JetBlue our culture IS service. Many crewmembers have shared that opportunities to give back are important to their work/life balance. As such, in addition to the award-winning service we provide to our customers, we regularly try to find ways to work in our local communities by providing opportunities for service. In fact, our corporate responsibility initiatives have been cited as a key recruiting and retention tool for JetBlue.