Ten-Thousand Dollar Checks Go To Aviation Charitable
Organizations
The Civil Air Patrol and the Recreational Aviation Foundation
are among the recipients of $10,000 grants from the Lightspeed
Aviation Foundation. The grant winners were announced Friday. Five
aviation organizations were chosen by pilots casting votes for
their favorite among the twenty finalists announced in March.
For the second straight year, Civil Air Patrol is among the
grant recipients. Col. Christopher J. Hayden, commander of Civil
Air Patrol’s Northeast Region, accepted the grant. “The
pilot community has spoken and, once again, the Civil Air Patrol
stands out as one of the most valued and respected aviation
charities in our nation,” said Schrader. “On behalf of
the Lightspeed Aviation Foundation, it is truly an honor to support
the incredible work of Civil Air Patrol.”
Maj. Gen. Charles L. Carr Jr., CAP’s national commander,
was pleased with the recognition and the contribution. “I
would like to extend our gratitude to citizens across America who
cast their vote in support of CAP,” he said. The grant will
be put to good use promoting aerospace education through
CAP’s Aerospace Connections in Education, or ACE, program,
which benefits more than 100 schools and 15,000 students across the
nation.
The Recreational Aviation Foundation was another of the
awardees. RAF President John McKenna was on hand to accept the
$10,000 grant from Lightspeed Aviation Foundation President and
Founder Allan Schrader. "We work hard for every dollar we raise and
even harder to make sure donor dollars are spent effectively,"
McKenna said. "The aviation community has spoken, they like the RAF
and we like that! Now it’s back to work preserving,
maintaining and creating public use recreational and backcountry
airstrips around the nation. Thanks to all who made this
possible."
Other winners included the Mission Aviation Fellowship, which
with its fleet of 58 aircraft executed 33,365 flights, logged 2.5
million nautical miles, transported 94,961 passengers and delivered
more than 9 million pounds of cargo—all on 1700 rough,
unimproved dirt and grass airstrips, as well as waterways. Their
grant will be used to continue their efforts to overcome barriers
and transform lives through aviation and technology; The
Ninety-Nines, Amelia Earhart Memorial Scholarship Fund, which
established a scholarship fund in 1941 to provide education
advancement in aviation for future women pilot members of the
Ninety-Nines. This grant will make more scholarships available; and
Wings of Hope, whose stated goal is to not only help the needy
survive, but to enable them to become self-sufficient. Their
outreach includes a free Medical Relief and Transport program that
brings critically needed medical care to the underserved poor in 25
Midwestern states. This grant will be used to support their efforts
and to expand the service to more of those facing severe health
challenges in rural areas where care is unavailable.
Allan Schrader, Founder and President of the Foundation, says
that he continues to be extremely moved by the good work being done
by all of these charities. “Last year our grants totaled more
than $100,000 and it is truly amazing to know just how far our
contribution can go toward helping these worthy aviation charities
achieve their goals.”