Steady rain didn’t dampen the spirits of teams pulling together in support of Haul for Hope at the KF Centre for Excellence at Kelowna International Airport on Tuesday morning.

Dressed in 80s-themed outfits to mark 40 years of Hope Air, they put their backs into pulling a 67,000-pound WestJet Dash 8 aircraft 100 metres across the finish line. The event raises funds and awareness about the British Columbians who rely on Hope Air to travel hundreds or thousands of kilometres for medical treatment.

“And that, my friends, is the magic of Hope Air. That’s why you’re here today,” Mark Rubinstein, chief hope officer, told the assembled crowd. He called the rain a blessing that symbolizes the struggle that so many people go through when they have to travel far from their homes for treatment.

One of those patients, is Rhonda Caron of Penticton, who spoke about how the service has been pivotal in her leukemia treatments in Vancouver.

“I remember having excruciating treatments. A bone marrow biopsy, a lumbar puncture and then going back to the lodge, sleeping, waking up early, getting on a plane and I’d be home before lunch,” said Caron.

“I can’t even express in words how comforting it was to go through these gruelling tests knowing I get to be home, I get to be with my family.”

This year, Haul for Hope is seeking to raise $575,000.

Not only does Hope Air provide flights for patients travelling from home for specialized healthcare, it also helps with accommodations, meals and ground transportation. Over the past four decades, it has provided more than 277,000 travel arrangements for over 106,000 patients and their escorts living in more than 700 communities across Canada.