Put Amelia Earhart back in the skies!
Join EVE’s 99 Club to help fund the new Amelia Earhart balloon!
Americans love parades. And one of the things we love best about parades are those giant helium balloons: floating behemoths in the shape of popular characters like Uncle Sam, Spider Man, Smokey the Bear, Santa Claus, Garfield, and hundreds of others.
But have you noticed that very few parade balloons depict female characters? In fact, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade didn’t introduce a female character balloon until 1982—more than half a century after the first parade in 1924. To this day there have been only 10 female character balloons in Macy’s entire history.
It’s a similar story in parades all over the country. Male symbolism abounds and female role models are virtually absent. There are no heroines for girls to look up to, no famous American women being celebrated.
That’s why EVE is bringing women’s history right to the streets—and the skies!
We’re teaming up with StarBound Entertainment, one of the country’s top balloon suppliers, to create a whole new line of balloons featuring great American heroines. These balloons will fly in the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Parade, the National Independence Day Parade, and dozens of other major parades around the country. Many of these parades are televised, so the balloons will be viewed by literally millions of people.
Our first balloon will be of Amelia Earhart in her famous red Lockheed Vega.
All we need to put Amelia back in the skies is for 99 people to give $99: $9,801 total. The balloon will have a “test flight” in a parade in early fall, followed by a major debut in a Thanksgiving Day parade this year!
Your tax-deductible donation of $99 will enroll you as a member of EVE’s 99 Club, named in honor of the original Ninety-Nines—the club for women pilots founded by Amelia Earhart in 1929. We’ll list your name on the Wall of Fame (see the bottom of this page) and on our Donor page.
You can track our progress on the big thermometer at left, or grab the portable widget on the right to post on your own blog or website.
Check out our Q&A about the project, and scroll down to watch our slideshow about balloons and StarBound Entertainment.
Questions and Answers about EVE’s Balloon Project
Why balloons?
Our Great American Heroines series of balloons will bring inspiring role models straight to kids—and their parents. It can take years to get a statue in place or a street name changed, and getting our history books updated is a slow and cumbersome process. But parade balloons are immediate, highly memorable, and fun! Millions of people will see our parade balloons—which means millions of little girls will get the self-esteem boost and sense of empowerment that comes from discovering that women can do big things, too.
How many people will see the balloons?
Literally millions of people every year. The major parades have hundreds of thousands of spectators, plus most of them are televised—which means an even bigger audience.
Are parade balloons really that effective?
Absolutely. Research shows that the giant helium balloons are people’s number one favorite part of a parade. Sometimes the balloons are the only thing people really remember! (It’s hard to miss a balloon the size of a house.)
In these tough economic times isn’t buying a balloon sort of frivolous?
We know that times are hard for everybody these days. But EVE is about investing in our daughters’ futures. And parade balloons give outstanding value for money. For less than $10,000, we’ll have a balloon that will last for 20 years and be seen by millions of people every single year. You can’t even buy a single 30-second national TV spot for that kind of money.
Why did you pick Amelia Earhart as the first balloon?
Amelia Earhart was an amazing heroine—the first woman to cross the Atlantic solo, the first person to fly solo over the Pacific—and also an aerodynamic one! The balloon designer at StarBound Entertainment suggested Amelia because the red Lockheed Vega will make a terrific balloon. An exciting, visually appealing balloon will be very popular with parade organizers and spectators.
What will the Amelia Earhart balloon look like?
The balloon will be a 40-foot replica of Amelia Earhart’s red Lockheed Vega 5B, now housed in the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum. It’s pictured up at the top of this page, and you can also see a high-resolution image here (about 2MB). An oversized Amelia will be looming out of the cockpit, wearing her aviator hat.
Are there any other balloons of historic women?
Not yet. Amelia Earhart will be the first. Our Great American Heroines series of balloons will break new ground in popularizing women’s history and bringing inspiring female role models to the public.
Who were the Ninety-Nines?
Amelia Earhart founded the Ninety-Nines in 1929 as a club for women pilots. The name was taken from the fact that there were exactly 99 members! The Ninety-Nines are still in existence as an international organization for women pilots. They also operate the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum.
How will people know the balloon is sponsored by EVE?
Each time our balloon appears in a parade, we’ll have a banner carried in front with our name on it as sponsors. We’ll also write the script for the television announcers to read introducing the balloon, which means that millions of viewers will hear the message about equal visibility for women.
What other balloons is EVE considering?
We plan to introduce a new balloon every year. Some of the possibilities include Annie Oakley, Harriet Tubman, Nellie Bly, Judith Resnik, Abigail Adams, Clara Barton, Dian Fossey, and many more.
Is my donation tax-deductible?
Yes! EVE is a registered public charity under IRS section 501(c)(3). All contributions to us are tax-deductible. Visit our secure online donation page to make a contribution today — and put Amelia Earhart back in the skies!
