During the annual Christmas For Others campaign, students, faculty and staff at Padua Franciscan High School give generously of their time, talents and treasures to brighten the holiday season for those in need.
On Tuesday, December 9, 2025, Padua choral performers brought their voices to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where they greeted deserving families who were attending the United Airlines Fantasy Flight to the North Pole.
“It brings my heart a lot of joy that my students are willing to share their gifts and talents to bring joy and happiness to people that are in need and not doing so well during the holidays,” said Tammy Plasterer, Padua’s Director of Fine Arts.
The 31 Padua carolers split into two groups with one greeting travelers as they entered the airport check-in area and the other performing at the gate before and during the boarding process. Before the flight pulled away from the gate, Padua’s entire choral group came together for one last medley to wish travelers well.
The students performed a range of Christmas songs, including the classics like “Joy to the World,” “We Three Kings,” and “Carol of the Bells.” Also, they sung more contemporary songs like “Tiny Little Baby,” “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Christmas on Broadway.”
Additionally, the Padua students sung one song in Swahili, “Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe.” “Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe” translates to “There is No God Like You.”
“I want to make sure that we make the experience memorable because it’s unlike others,” said senior Angela Joy Madamba ’26. “The fact that we’re able to go and brighten up their days, it was nice.
“We’ve worked really hard the past couple of months, especially on some of the newer songs, so we’re finally able to showcase them. It’s fun because it’s what we love to do.”
United’s Fantasy Flights are a series of 12 special flights across the country to help lift the spirits of families in need. These families have either lost a loved one on active duty or are caring for a child with serious health issues.
This year, the Fantasy Flights took place or are scheduled from multiple locations, including Guam, Honolulu, San Francisco and Los Angeles on the west coast, Cleveland and Chicago in the Midwest and Newark, Tampa and Washington-Dulles in the east. Also, United Airlines took Fantasy Flight international with trips to the North Pole from London and Tokyo.
Along with welcoming the families for the Fantasy Flight, the Padua singers brought Christmas cheer to many others waiting at the ticket counters and bag drops, as well as in Concourse C. For “Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe,” they were briefly joined by the Grinch.
“It was really meaningful because we got to share the love of being a Catholic school, but also, we also got to sing, which is a way to spread joy to people who don’t receive that often,” said senior Drew Ketvertis, ’26.
“It’s just a really great way to show our Franciscan school and how we like to spread that love.”
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