• by Tanya Gazdik , June 16, 2013

United Airlines is donating one million MileagePlus miles to Make-A-Wish.

The donation, which is being made for the second year in a row, will help children with life-threatening illnesses reach their wish destinations.

The airline donated the miles as part of the annual Make-A-Wish "Mileathon" held last week. United pledged to match up to one million miles donated by its MileagePlus members during the one-day Mileathon, which is part of the Make-A-Wish “Wishes in Flight ” program. Several United employees also volunteered at the event, raising charity miles from Make-A-Wish supporters and MileagePlus members.

"United has been a proud partner of Make-A-Wish for more than 15 years," said Martin Hand, United's senior vice president of customer experience and a Make-A-Wish America board member, in a release. "We are grateful to our MileagePlus members for their generous donations, and we are thrilled to continue supporting this special program on behalf of all our customers."

United employees regularly collaborate with local Make-A-Wish chapters, helping fulfill travel wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.

Make-A-Wish is one of United's top recipients for charity miles, with United employees and customers donating more than 500 million miles to date. Through these donations, the airline has helped fulfill more than 3,125 wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Make-A-Wish grants the wishes of children with life-threatening medical conditions to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy. According to a 2011 U.S. study of wish impact, most health professionals surveyed believe a wish-come-true can have positive impacts on the health of children.

Kids say wishes give them renewed strength to fight their illnesses, and their parents say these experiences help strengthen the entire family. Based in Phoenix, Make-A-Wish is one of the world's leading children's charities, serving children in every community in the United States and its territories. With the help of generous donors and more than 25,000 volunteers, Make-A-Wish grants a wish somewhere in the country every 38 minutes. It has granted more than 226,000 wishes since its inception in 1980, with nearly 14,000 in 2012 alone.