Hope Air

Medical Travel Assistance

Pilots exceed fundraising goal for flying
expedition that helps patients travel
for medical care

A group of pilots who organized an expedition to raise funds for Hope Air has surpassed its original fundraising goal by more than $20,000. The Give Hope Wings expedition raised $422,385 to provide 1,689 flights for patients in need and created awareness for patients who need help. The pilots and volunteers made stops in Western Canada between August 23 and September 3 to raise funds to provide flights for patients in financial need who must travel far from home for vital medical care. The flights are especially important for patients who live outside of large centres and would have to drive or take a bus for several hours each way to reach specialists.

This was the fourth annual expedition and the pilots landed in cities such as Nelson, Drumheller, Saskatoon, Yorkton and Churchill. Pilots volunteered their own time and had to make adjustments to the route along the way because of weather, smoke from fires and evolving local COVID-19 restrictions.

“We are incredibly grateful for the amazing dedication of the pilots and volunteers who participated in the two-week expedition. These incredible supporters volunteer their own time to help patients, and it is quite remarkable that they exceeded the fundraising goal. It will help ensure that we can continue to provide flights to patients in need,” says Mark Rubinstein, CEO of Hope Air.

Previous Give Hope Wings expeditions have raised a total of $900,000 to fund more than 3,600 flights.

Hope Air would especially like to thank the Title Sponsor, Langley Sportsplex, and Gold Sponsors Coastal GasLink, Cognizant, Federated Co-operatives Limited, LNG Canada, Odlum Brown Limited and Van-Kam Freightways Ltd. Hope Air would also like to thank the media sponsors National Post/Postmedia, Pattison Media and NowMedia.

As Hope Air celebrates this monumental achievement by its volunteers, it is still aiming to raise an additional $1.5 million in 2021 to continue to help patients across the country reach vital medical care far from home.

We acknowledge that we live and work on the unceded, traditional territories of many Indigenous peoples. We are grateful for the privilege of being on lands that these peoples have nurtured since time immemorial.