Hello Vuelo
Hello Vuelo
At least once or twice a year, most of us are able to spend time with our loved ones - reconnect, share, laugh with grandparents, siblings, children, aunts & uncles, cousins, parents, and good friends. During holidays, special occasions or in times of sickness & need, we have the resources to visit the people who are most important to us.
Unfortunately, for many low wage workers often residing thousands upon thousands of miles from the people they love, its not so easy to see each other.
When low income families are struggling to pay the rent and buy food, spending money on a plane ticket is simply an impossibility. Countless families spend too many years apart - unable to travel due to finances, which is often made more difficult by restrictive immigration policies.
Hello Vuelo uses crowdfunding & airline miles donations (minimum 10,000 miles) to purchase flights to reunite low income families. We connect families & friends who want to give with families & friends who are in need of support.
"Vuelo" means flight in Spanish and so our project - Hello Vuelo - means a flight to say hello to loved ones and reunite.
“I have not seen my mother since fleeing from Guinea and the threat of military violence in 2010. I want to see her before she dies so she can see that I have survived.”
Asmaou was finally reunited with her mother and children in August of 2014 on a Hello Vuelo funded flight!
Current Travelers
Current Travelers
San Francisco, CA to Toishan, China
My name is Wan Qing and I am a restaurant worker in Chinatown in San Francisco. I serve food at a deli and manage the counter as a cashier also. It is difficult to find a better job because I do not know English. I cannot afford the plane tickets to China due to my low-wage job. In a few years, my children will hopefully be going to college but I am still very worried about their tuition - every penny that I have now I save it up for my son's tuition. I try my best to save money but I still cannot achieve my dream to go back to Mainland China with my family. READ MORE. . .
FLIGHT CREW: The Lee/Wilson/Brodie Family
PARTNER ORGANIZATION: Chinese Progressive Association - San Francisco
San Francisco, CA to Guangzhou, China
I was born in Guangzhou, China and migrated here to the United States in 1999 when I was about 50 years old. Since I’ve been in the US, I have worked at a bakery store, garment factory, and laundry store. Now, I work for In-Home Supportive Services as a housekeeper.
I would really like to travel to Guangzhou to see my son as well as my uncle, auntie, older sister, son, and younger brother. I would especially like to see them during the Chinese New Year next year so we can celebrate the holidays together. READ MORE. . .
FLIGHT CREW: Joyce Chen & Emily Moore
PARTNER ORGANIZATION: Chinese Progressive Association - San Francisco
How It Works
How It Works
Established community & legal aid organizations such as Make the Road New York nominate low wage workers or their family members - we call them "Travelers" - for free trips through Hello Vuelo.
We work with community organizations so they can vet individual’s stories and ensure that they are in need of support. Travelers are from low income families with a joint family income of $40,000 or less (for family of four) and generally fall into the following categories:
- have not seen loved one for over 2 years due to low income
there is a sudden health issue in the family and a low income family member cannot afford a trip to visit
there is a milestone event coming up (birth of a child, wedding, funeral) and the low income family member cannot afford to attend
These nominated low wage workers or their family members go up on our website with their profile and pictures so people can read their stories. For each Traveler, we recruit a primary fundraiser - their "Flight Crew" - who will take the lead in fundraising for the trip but allow any person to donate miles (minimum one way flight) or money to any trip.
If you would like to be a lead fundraiser for a trip, please contact us at hellovuelo@gmail.com
100% of all donations go to Travelers. Hello Vuelo is entirely volunteer run & takes no portion of donations.
At this point, donations are not tax deductible - if the project goes well, we will take the steps secure non-profit status.
About Us
About Us
Hello Vuelo is a volunteer run project - 100% of all donations go directly towards trips for low income families. We are a small group of people who believe low wages should not keep families apart and wanted to do something about it.
Time of Day Media - a social justice media cooperative based in NYC - provides media support for this project.
Hello Vuelo works with amazing partner groups organizing low income communities for fair economic and immigration policies. These are a few of the organizations we are working with:
Make the Road New York
Make the Road New York builds the power of Latino and working class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services.
National Domestic Workers Alliance
The National Domestic Workers Alliance (NDWA) is the nation’s leading voice for dignity and fairness for the millions of domestic workers in the United States, most of whom are women.
Chinese Progressive Association - San Francisco
Founded in 1972, the Chinese Progressive Association educates, organizes and empowers the low income and working class immigrant Chinese community in San Francisco to build collective power with other oppressed communities to demand better living and working conditions and justice for all people.
African Services Committee
African Services Committee is a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the health and self-sufficiency of the African community in New York City and beyond.
Want to become a partner organization?
Are you an organization that works with low wage workers and/or low income families? Do you have members who are unable to see their loved ones due to finances? Please contact us at hellovuelo@gmail.com