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Virgin Atlantic Airlines will feature Kids are Heroes, a nonprofit group created by father-daughter duo Gabe and MaryMargaret O'Neill of Ijamsville, in an in-flight video starting June 1.

The O'Neills created and submitted a two-minute video promotion of Kids are Heroes' Web site for PitchTV, a brand-new show that will air short video pitches featuring entrepreneurial ideas in need of investment.

Kids are Heroes showcases the community service of Frederick County children, ages 5 to 17. By featuring children who are making a difference in their communities, Kids are Heroes aims to inspire other children to do the same.

PitchTV — created in honor of Virgin Atlantic's 25th anniversary — hopes to attract the attention of business professionals flying on Virgin Atlantic.

The community votes for their favorite pitch online and five winners are selected each month. Kids are Heroes placed third in PitchTV's first show next month.

The winning pitches are featured on Richard Branson's blog, "Business Stripped Bare." Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, will personally select his favorite video each year, according to a recent blog post.

In an e-mail to The Gazette, Gabe O'Neill noted that he and his 10-year-old daughter didn't pitch Kids are Heroes to make money, but rather to thank Branson, the inspiration behind the Web site.

In the Kids are Heroes video pitch, O'Neill cited Branson's idea of "social entrepreneurship" — using creativity and technology to solve world issues —as "life changing" for him and his family. Gabe and MaryMargaret O'Neill created Kids are Heroes in March 2008.

"The ideal situation we would like to see come from this is that someone with the financial wherewithal recognizes the true good that can come from this if Kids Are Heroes were launched on a global scale," O'Neill wrote.

E-mail Katherine Mullen at kmullen@gazette.net.