Teaching Plane Etiquette for Kids
Flight attendant pens children’s book about airplane safety and good manners –
During a book signings across the U.S. author and flight attendant M.L. Murray introduced travelers to her new children’s book, Plane Manners. A beautifully illustrated, delightful story that features a cast of zoo animals each conveying good manners and tips on airplane safety is a little book with a big heart and a lofty goal. Volunteers needed to join book-signings in the following cities:
Available in Heritage bookstores located in 12 U.S. airports, Plane Manners ($14.95) was written by a veteran flight attendant who has seen first-hand how rewarding it is for children who travel that have displayed good manners and how contagious it is to other passengers. M.L. Murray began her airline career flying for major international airlines in 1968. An active member of Airline Ambassadors International (AAI), Murray has pledged to donate $1.00 from the purchase of every Plane Manners book to AAI’s efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance, escort children in need of medical care and advocate and educate for children protection – particularly human trafficking in children, a global epidemic.
“My wish is every adult will read Plane Manners to their child before they fly and both will be reminded how important ‘plane manners’ and child safety are wherever your flight takes you,” said M.L. Murray during the first of 18 book signings she’ll participate in across the country. “Equally important to me is raising awareness around the prevention of human trafficking, particularly the trafficking of children. Child safety takes many forms and as flight attendants, we have a unique opportunity to observe warning signals among travelers and report suspicious activity to the authorities. My hope is to raise significant funds from the sale of Plane Manners to enhance the training and education efforts led by Airline Ambassadors International. We can help rescue a child’s life by ensuring every flight attendant is aware of human trafficking warning signs and takes action to stop this crime.” Click HERE for Radio Interview with Travel Talk Media
“Plane Manners” a Children’s Book with Lofty Goals
The book’s inflight adventure features a number of unlikely travel companions who practice good manners in spite of close quarters and unique cabin mates. Kids experience good plane etiquette and safety lessons through memorable characters like paparazzi-hounded celebrity Zoe the Zebra, too-tall Geoffrey the Giraffe, and the well-manned Michael the Chimp Gentleman. Plane Manners is first in a series of books to teach children good manners in every life situation.
Illustrated by Paul Tuller with rhyming by Nancy Huether, Plane Manners is available for bulk purchase at a discounted price, visit www.magicmomentbooks.com for details. Book signings before the Christmas holidays include: Washington National, New York, Dallas, Washington Dulles, Baltimore, Detroit, Atlanta, Orange County, Philadelphia, and Fort Myers airports.
About Human Trafficking
Approximately 18,000 persons are trafficked into the United States from over 50 countries every year. Over 300,000 children are trafficked within the United States annually. U.S. children are trafficked to large urban centers such as Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles, as well as to tourism destinations including Las Vegas and Florida. The American girls and women that are trafficked come from big cities and small towns. They come from affluent, middle class, and lower income families and from many ethnic backgrounds and recruited from malls, schools, youth centers, theme parks, neighborhoods, and online.
The Facts:
– Human Trafficking is a $32 billion industry annually for organized crime
– Each year over 2 million women and children are sold into slavery and within the U.S. over 300,000 annually
– Human Trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world, second only to the drug trade
– The money from this illicit industry fuels organized crime and terrorist networks worldwide
– Victims of sex trafficking can be girls or boys, women and men
AAI President, Nancy Rivard and trainers Sandi Fiorini and Naomi Van Duin will participate at the 3rd INTERPOL Conference on Trafficking in Human Beings in Lyon France November 2014.
“ What an honor to be invited to present our airline initiative to the Interpol Conference with top human trafficking experts from around the world”. said Sandi Fiorini, after AAI’s presentation last year.
Purpose of the 3rd INTERPOL Trafficking in Human Beings Conference is to promote and enhance international police cooperation and support member countries in understanding new trends within THB and is made possible due to support by the AbuDhabi Judicial Dept.
Secretary General Ronald K. Noble and the French Minister for Women’s Rights, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, opened the event in 2013, which brought together 150 law enforcement and non-governmental experts from nearly 50 countries.
“I am very pleased to have opened this conference as INTERPOL is highly mobilized and committed to fighting human trafficking, a transnational challenge confronting all countries and human rights, women’s rights in particular, are at stake.” said Minister Vallaud-Belkacem.
A key theme at the conference is how through new technology, human trafficking has become a multi-billion dollar industry, with the Internet, social networks and mobile phones providing new avenues for sexual exploitation and abuse, and used by traffickers to recruit and sell their victims, or to attract potential customers.
INTERPOL Secretary General Noble said that these same technologies hold equal opportunities for law enforcement to access intelligence and raise awareness, to help identify victims and take preventative measures.
“To take advantage of this, we need to change our habits, to break out of isolation, to share and exploit any piece of information available, anywhere in the world,” said Mr Noble. “
Airline Ambassadors was acknowledged in the official press release and report on the event which was a huge acknowledgement of our innovation in educating airline and transportation personnel.
AAI has provided public awareness training’s at over 20 airport and other locations so far. See story here: ttp://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/assignment_7&id=8728128
Bravo to the NGO Terre des Hommes whose amazing work with the computer animated “Sweetie”, identified 1,000 perpetrators in just two months. Their files were turned over to Interpol on Nov. 4th,with amazing potential for global law enforcement response in 2014. http://andrewazzopardi.org/2013/11/09/stop-webcam-child-sex-tourism-watch-video/
Airline Ambassadors receives IIPT Ambassador for Peace Award
at the Platinum Suite Stage of World Travel Market on 5 November 2013
London, England – 5 November 2013 – Airline Ambassadors International today was awarded an “Ambassador for Peace Award” by the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism (IIPT) for promoting a “Culture of Peace through Tourism.” The award was presented on the Platinum Stage at the World Travel Market in London, England, as Sandy Dhurvetter, Executive Producer/Host TravelTalkMEDIA and member of the AAI Board, accepted the award from IIIPT Founder and President, Louis D’Amore. [photo available].
Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary General, UNWTO Secretary General; David Scowsill, President, World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC); Mok Singh, Immediate Past President, Skal International; Geoffrey Lipman, President, International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP); Martin Craigs, President, Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and Peter DeWilde, CEO of Visit Flanders all spoke at the event to support the important role of travel and tourism as a vehicle for peace.
Eight organizations were recognized at the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT) 25th anniversary commemoration of its First Global Conference, Tourism: A Vital Force for Peace, Vancouver 1988. The event took place at World Travel Market’s Platinum Suite stage on Tuesday, November 5 from 1400–1500.
IIPT Presented Ambassador for Peace Awards to:
Airline Ambassadors International, www.airlineamb.org
Airline Ambassadors International began in 1996 when Founder Nancy Rivard, with a small group of airline personnel, used their travel benefits to help orphans and vulnerable children.
Global Volunteers, www.globalvolunteers.org
Works in special consultative status with the United Nations and in partnership with U.N. agencies UNICEF and the World Food Programme to engage short-term volunteers on long-term projects to create, nurture and sustain the well being of the world’s children – so they can realize the full promise of their human potential.
Alex Harris, www.generaltours.com
In 1954, after requesting special permission from the U.S. State Department and Eisenhower Administration, he was granted the authority to operate the first scheduled tours to the Soviet Union for American travelers. His story is an inspiration to all who face seemingly overwhelming odds and proof that even the greatest obstacles can be overcome.
Hostelling International, www.hihostels.com
The Hostelling International mission, defined in 1932, is one of the earliest examples of sustainable tourism by encouraging a greater knowledge, love and care of the countryside and an appreciation of the social and cultural values in all parts of the world.
IUCN – UIAA Summit Team, www.rogerpayne.info/
Honoring the first time that mountaineers from India and Pakistan had formed a joint climbing team, the first time the flags of the two nations had flown together from a Summit, and the first time that any of the climbs were made by a quadruple amputee.
Peace Boat, www.peaceboat.org/english
For thirty years, Peace Boat has been promoting people-to-people communication across borders and building a culture of peace.
PeaceTrees Vietnam, www.peacetreesvietnam.org
For their work alongside the Vietnamese people to transform the destructive consequences of war into a safe and healthy environment for the children of Quang Tri Province by removing land mines and replacing them with trees.
READ Global, www.readglobal.org
READ (Rural Education and Development) Global believes that empowering rural communities is critical to alleviating global poverty. READ partners with rural villages to build Community Library and Resource Centers (READ Centers) that offer knowledge, information and opportunities to villagers that lack the most basic educational resources.
IIPT will end its 25th anniversary year with a Global Summit in September 2014. The event will begin and end with two global media events: On September 21, the UN International Day of Peace, the IIPT/Skal 500 Peace Towns and Villages will be dedicated in countries throughout the world. On September 27, World Tourism Day, IIPT will launch its “Great Falls Peace Parks” initiative sending a message of peace, friendship and hope for the future circling the earth.
IIPT Founder and President said, “As one of the world’s largest and fastest growing industries, the collective voice of travel and tourism leaders can be a powerful force for peace and justice in the 21st century – for without peace, there is no tourism.”
The event was co-moderated by Fiona Jeffery OBE – Former Chairman, World Travel Market and Founder and Chairman, Just a Drop, and Anita Mendiratta, Founder & Managing Director CACHET Consulting.
A highlight of the ceremony was Alston Koch, a Sri Lankan-born Australian singer-songwriter sang an original song on a theme of climate change.
About IIPT
IIPT is dedicated to fostering and facilitating tourism initiatives that contribute to international understanding and cooperation, an improved quality of environment, the preservation of heritage, poverty reduction, and the resolution of conflict – and through these initiatives, help bring about a more peaceful and sustainable world. IIPT is dedicated to mobilizing travel and tourism, the world’s largest industry, as the world’s first “Global Peace Industry,” an industry that promotes and supports the belief that “Every traveler is potentially an Ambassador for Peace.”
About World Travel Market
World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Almost 48,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL – London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM. WTM, now in its 34th year, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals.
You can download the PDF of the press release here.
AAI Board member and AAI trainer, Sandy Dhuyvetter, is also the host of Travel Talk Media. Here she discusses the important issue of protecting children in tourism from exploitation.
Read more and listen to the interview here.
Anna Maldonado was featured in the Malibu Chronicle on September 10, 2013. You can read the article here.
Anna will soon bring Marcella and Lizette back to their families in El Salvador after donated surgeries in LA by Mending Kids International.
She has fallen in love with the country and its people. This picture is of her distributing gifts to children recently at the dedication of a new well and solar system for San Antonio School, El Salvador.
Thanks, Anna, for the wonderful work that you do, sharing your time and love to help make these children’s lives better.
Petra’s Cancer Fund
Petra Hensley is a survivor of human trafficking and one of Airline Ambassadors star trainers for Human Trafficking Awareness. Petra was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphona this spring and is undergoing aggressive chemo-therapy. She has helped our projects in Haiti raising donations to help hundreds of children. But now, in her hour of need, let’s help HER with our support, love and donations!
Make a donation for Petra at GiveForward.
AAI Founder, Nancy Rivard, was honored with Woman of the Year at the We Care for Humanity’s first Global Officials of Dignity at the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
A recent report shows that all U.S. states now criminalize human trafficking. When Reuters reported on this issue, AAI’s poster can clearly be seen in the background. We are very proud to be a part of this momentous occasion.
http://www.trust.org/item/20130816113827-xrwic/?source=hpeditorial&siteVersion=mobile
Nancy was recently interviewed in BusinessTravelRADIO. You can link to the show here.
Our first two book-signings for the New Children’s Book, Plane Manners, were a huge success at DCA airport. Both children and adults loved the delightful story of a new in-flight adventure featuring an animal cast of the most unlikely travel companions. Colorful characters and rhymes introduce children to good manners and safety in spite of close quarters and “far out” cabin mates.
