Toronto, ON, (October 14, 2026) — Community and business leaders in Ontario are helping raise funds and awareness for a shared goal: ensuring that people in the North can access essential healthcare, regardless of their income or how far they must travel.

Hope Air relies on private sector and individual support to fund its mission, delivering travel supports to low-income Canadians from remote, rural and underserved communities who must leave their home communities to access specialized medical care. Support takes many forms, and this summer it manifested through Hope Air fundraising events, including Haul for Hope at Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, and Give Hope Wings, a flying expedition which travelled throughout Eastern Canada and closed in Sudbury.

Giving of their time, accessing their networks, and making personal financial contributions, these leaders are helping patients overcome the financial barriers of travelling away from home for medical appointments and treatment. These events have raised over $500,000 to support Hope Air flight, hotel, airport ground transportation and other programs and services.

Hope Air is proud to acknowledge support from several members of its Board of Directors, who raised funds and participated in these two unique event offerings: Sandra Hollingsworth (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Ed Johnston (Brantford, Ontario), Vanessa Thomas (Ottawa, Ottawa) and John Andrew (Kingston, Ontario).

Whether flying personal aircraft thousands of kilometres at their own expense to raise funds and awareness, or pulling a 67,000 Porter Q400 100 metres, these individuals stood side-by-side with hundreds of others in solidarity with Northern Ontario patients in need.

The participation of these business leaders demonstrates how local leadership and community generosity can translate into practical support for patients and families.

“For people living in Northern Ontario, access to specialized healthcare often begins with a long journey,” said Sandra Hollingsworth. “Community and business leaders have an opportunity to help make that journey possible. By supporting Hope Air, we can help our neighbours reach the care they need without the added worry of travel costs.”

Patients who must leave their communities for care can face expenses for flights, accommodation, meals and ground transportation. For households already struggling to meet everyday costs, these expenses can put medical care out of reach. Hope Air provides free medical travel support to eligible patients in financial need. In 2025, Hope Air supported over 1,020 patient and caregiver trips, helping families, individuals and children from 73 Northern Ontario communities.

The importance of that support was brought home at Haul for Hope by Wesley, a patient from Sudbury, and his mother, Ebele, who shared their family’s experience travelling for medical care.

“Without Hope Air I don’t know how I would manage all of this,” Ebele says. “My sons condition means that he cannot manage long drives in the car, and as a single mother who is new to Canada the expense of travel on our own would have been overwhelming. For me, Hope Air means that when my son needs to see a specialist, I can focus on getting him there instead of wondering how I will afford the journey” she shared with the crowd at Haul for Hope Toronto.

“Equitable access to healthcare depends on people being able to reach it,” said Mark Rubinstein, Chief Executive Officer of Hope Air. “We are grateful to our Board members and to the community and business leaders who are stepping forward to support patients in the North. Their fundraising, advocacy and generosity help connect people to care when they need it most.”

Hope Air invites businesses, community organizations and individuals across Ontario to get involved by supporting a fundraising event, organizing a local fundraiser or making a donation.

About Hope Air
Hope Air is a Canadian charity providing free flights, accommodation, meals and ground transportation to people in financial need who must travel away from home for medical care. Its mission is to help ensure that every Canadian can access the healthcare they need, regardless of income or distance.

To learn more, donate or apply for support, visit hopeair.ca.

Media contact:
Jodi Lumsden Director, Marketing Communications
jlumsden@hopeair.ca
647-688-5634
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