We’re in the midst of the season of gratitude and giving, and JetBlue took it a step further with a surprise trip to help an international community in the Caribbean, and Travel Noire was invited along for the ride along with the winners of the #CheckInForGood Contest. 

In October, the New York-based airline gave customers nationwide the opportunity to tell the company why they should be one of  50 do-gooders selected to fly to Destination Good for an all expenses paid, three-day volunteer trip — but the kicker was that they wouldn’t know the destination beforehand. Pretty cool, right?

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Well, on Tuesday at 6 am the winners, and their guests found out that they were all headed to the Dominican Republic as the destination was kept secret until flight check-in. After an early morning, a ribbon cutting ceremony, an in-flight true or false trivia session, and a four-hour flight, we made it to the Dominican Republic. 

 

While we’re taking in the warm temperatures and sunshine, the winners will spend the next three days focusing on Jet Blue For Good’s key values: youth and education, community and the environment. We will be working with The Dream Project to renovate a local school, the Paradisus by Meliá to beautify an outdoor space where the kids play, and Fundemar to build buoys that will help keep the ocean’s coral reefs protected.

RELATED: The Importance of Giving Back as a Traveler

I am looking forward to lending my time to this wonderful cause alongside my fellow do-gooders. If you want to keep up with is over the next few days, these hashtags: #CheckInForGood and #JetBlueForGood will keep you in the know!

Giving Tuesday might just be one day, but its always a good time to do good! Drop by the JetBlue For Good website to see where else the airline is leaving a lasting footprint.