'Evening With Angels' Featured Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons

An industry benefit for the Corporate Angle Network (CAN) held at the 65th annual NBAA convention and meeting raised $371,000 to support CAN’s life-saving flights for cancer patients. The funds for CAN were raised through an annual benefit titled, “NBAA/CAN Soiree – An Evening With Angels,” which included live and silent auctions and a concert performance by Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons.

A nonprofit organization, Corporate Angel Network provides transportation to treatment centers for cancer patients in empty seats on business aircraft. CAN employs six staff and a team of 35 part-time volunteers who work with patients, physicians, corporate flight departments and leading treatment centers to coordinate charitable flights. More than 500 companies support CAN, and since its founding in 1981, the organization has arranged nearly 40,000 patient flights.
 
“The business aviation community is honored to have this opportunity to help support CAN’s work to help families get access to treatment for their loved ones,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “Cancer is a terrible disease that touches many families, and we are deeply grateful to everyone who supported CAN’s mission through their participation in our benefit.”
 
CAN Executive Director Peter Fleiss agreed, stating: “The people and companies in the business aviation community show their support for CAN’s work every day by making empty seats available to transport cancer patients. With this event, the industry has further confirmed its support for our work through their generous contributions. Our thanks for their leadership and assistance.”
 
Every year, CAN is the exclusive beneficiary of the NBAA/CAN Charity Benefit at NBAA’s Convention.

At this year’s benefit, CAN presented its “Angel of the Year” Award to NBAA Member The Dow Chemical Company for its extraordinary support for the organization’s work. The award was presented to Gregory Freiwald, an executive vice president with the company, by astronaut Eugene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon.
 
CAN’s Peter Fleiss noted: “We applaud The Dow Chemical Company for its outstanding work in the support of humanitarian missions. The company has provided over 6,000 flights for cancer patients, and they are most deserving of this honor.”

FMI: www.corpangelnetwork.org, www.nbaa.org