A Great Last-Minute Gift You Can Give With Your Phone

Up until now there have been only a few things your phone’s airplane mode was good for: complying with FAA regulations while still listening to music or watching movies on the airplane, saving battery life, and protecting against data overages. Thanks to Lufthansa there is another option now: helping to save the world.

For the holidays, Lufthansa has created a free smartphone app (available for iPhone and Android) which encourages you to turn on airplane mode during the holiday season. There’s a double benefit to this scheme: Not only do your flight mode minutes translate to more quality time with friends and family, but by December 24, all of the flight mode minutes from all app users worldwide will be totalled and translated into donations for school projects in India and Benin, as well as for a children’s daycare center in Brazil. The project is in partnership with the airline’s own philanthropic organization Help Alliance, which was founded by employees in 1999. For a real burst of holiday cheer, just look at how many minutes have already been collected at lh.com/flightmode—almost eight years.

So, if you’re not sure if you’ve made the ‘Nice’ list this year, you’ve got an easy last-minute reprieve. This is a wonderful way to give back without changing anything (or much) in your daily routine.