Once again, a group of intrepid pilots led by Give Hope Wings founder Dave McElroy have gotten together to plan another cross-country expedition to raise funds for Hope Air, the national charity that raises funds to provide transportation by air to distant medical appointments for those in financial need. Canadians in rural locations often have no economic means to travel to distant facilities for specialized health care not available in their home communities.
This is the fourth GHW expedition, with the first being a circumnavigation of South America that raised more than $500,000 for Hope Air, The Northern Expedition to the Arctic in 2019 which raised over $250,000, and last year’s Sault to Saguenay Expedition, which raised over $122,000 and provided transportation for 488 patients in need.
This year’s expedition, which will kick off from Metro Vancouver’s Boundary Bay airport (CZBB) on August 23, will travel through British Columbia and across the Prairies to Churchill, Manitoba, stopping at some of the communities where clients of Hope Air reside. The return journey to CZBB will stop in different communities. The goal is to raise at least $400,000 for Hope Air, which would provide some 1,600 patient flights.
“We are in the business of hope,” says Hope Air CEO Mark Rubinstein. “We support the most vulnerable who might otherwise see their circumstances as hopeless. We assist families, children and seniors, including people with disabilities, with limited or no support networks.”
Pilots who have access to an aircraft and who would like to participate in some or all of the expedition as a Supporting Pilot are invited to contact Lee Arsenault (Ont. and points east, lee@givehopewings.ca), Basie Spies (the Prairie provinces, basie@givehopewings.ca) or Dave McElroy (B.C. and the Territories, dave@givehopewings.ca).