There Are Angels Among Us
By Rose Dorcey, ANN Correspondent
In their first
appearance at an International Women in Aviation Conference, Angel
Flight America is quietly making their presence known to the nearly
2,500 men and women who are attending the event.
Angel Flight America (AFA) is the largest voluntary air
transportation organization in the world. Through seven autonomous
non-profit member organizations, AFA provides access for people in
need who are seeking free air transportation to specialized health
care facilities or distant destinations due to family, community or
national crisis.
Volunteer pilots donate their time, airplane, fuel and operating
expenses to help those in need. In excess of $15 million of donated
services has been contributed throughout the seven regions.
Judy Benjamin is a pilot and aviation specialist/mission
coordinator for Angel Flight Central, which is composed of ten
central US states including Illinois, Wisconsin, Nebraska, Missouri
and Kansas, where she is based.
"We provide many
flights to those in need… both medical and compassion
flights," she said. "Flights are provided to those who need
long-distance medical care on a regular basis, such as cancer
patients. We are involved in flying youth to camps, for instance
burn survivors. Our volunteer pilots are flying 60 kids to a youth
camp for those who are HIV-positive."
Benjamin also told of a young Kansas couple that flew a
commercial flight to Wisconsin to visit family before Christmas.
The wife, pregnant with their first child, went into labor in
Wisconsin. The baby was born several weeks premature. When their
doctor cleared the baby to leave the hospital, there was one
problem; the doctor didn't want the baby to fly a commercial flight
due to air quality concerns for the newborn. That's when Angel
Flight was called.
Tom Holcom, a Kansas City-area volunteer pilot, annually saves
Christmas Eve for Angel Flights. Holcom flew northeast to Milwaukee
to bring the new family home for Christmas.
These are just some of the ways Angel Flight can help people in
need.
Benjamin said that in 2004 Angel Flight pilots (including COPA's
Mike Radomsky, pictured below, with one of his charges) flew
more than 30,000 passengers on over 16,000 flights. Volunteer
ground crews (Earth Angels) drive patients back and forth to
airports and provide other ground support including fundraising,
patient and community outreach. Angel Flights were some of the
first flights allowed after September 11th, flying over 150
missions in service to America during relief
efforts.
Angel Flight America is comprised of seven regional
organizations, each with their own board of directors, staff
members, mission coordinators, volunteer pilots, ground volunteers
and donors.
While the organization is appreciative of the thousands of
people who donate their time and talent, they are striving to
become better known, in order to help more children and adults with
hundreds of illnesses and needs.
"We want to help more people," said Benjamin. "We want to see an
increase in flight requests, as well as pilots, we want to become a
household name."