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A group of 12 pilots is taking to the skies across Northern Ontario and Quebec from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 to raise awareness and funds for Hope Air – a charity that provides free flights and accommodations for Canadians in financial need who must reach medical care far from home.
This Give Hope Wings expedition aims to raise $100,000 to provide 400 flights to help people who must travel far away from their home communities. Flights are especially important for patients in Northern Ontario and Quebec who would have to drive or take a bus for several hours each way to reach specialists and appointments.
For this third annual expedition, pilots will take off from Burlington and fly to Sault Ste. Marie, Timmins and Sudbury. They will then fly to Trois-Rivières and over the Saguenay River. Hope Air will hold media events in Burlington, Sault Ste. Marie and Timmins with physical-distancing measures in place. Local patients will be available for the media to interview.
Media events are as follows:
- Wednesday, Sept. 30 at 10 a.m., Burlington Executive Airpark Airport, Burlington Flying Club
- Thursday, Oct. 1 at 9 a.m., Sault Ste. Marie Airport DevelopmentCorporation
- Thursday, Oct. 1 at 1 p.m., Timmins Victor M. Power Airport, Lloyd Richards Hangar
- Friday, Oct. 2 at 9 a.m., Sudbury – please contact us to arrange slots for media interviews
Pilot Annie Rusinowski, the winner of the Give Hope Wings Women Who Fly Award, is one of the pilots flying in this expedition and a great supporter of Hope Air.
“I wanted to join this expedition because my father endured many hardships when searching for medical care to help cure him of ALS. The process was incredibly stressful and a big financial burden,” she said. “Helping others is important to me because it is truly fulfilling to be able to help someone else who needs to travel for medical care as my father did.”
“We are very excited about this expedition in support of Hope Air,” said Mark Rubinstein, CEO of Hope Air. “We want to thank the pilots, volunteers, sponsors and donors for their generous support to close the gap between home and hospital for patients.”
Last year, Hope Air provided more than 13,000 travel arrangements to help Canadians. Previous expeditions have raised a total of $770,000 to fund more than 3,000 flights.
Hope Air would like to especially thank its media sponsors National Post/Postmedia, Le Loup and Le Voyageur.
For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact: Nicholas Bechard, nbechard@hopeair.ca, (613) 402-3293.
