Good Things Happen To Those Who Do Good
For Maria Weybrecht, the challenge of cancer has brought her --
and others -- great dividends.
As ANN reported a year ago,
Cleveland native Weybrecht was grounded by cancer in 2003 at age
19, having just obtained her private pilot license and on her way
to becoming a career military pilot. The aggressive form of cancer
may have clipped her wings, but it did not stop her love of flying
or her desire to share the inspiration, joy, and hope of flight
with families who need it most, while giving back to those who
helped her along her road to recovery.
Kids in Flight, along with its annual charity event, Wings of
Wonder, use aviation as a tool to encourage seriously ill children
and their families while giving them an opportunity to experience
the joy of flying.
"We're using aviation to encourage and empower these children
and their families," said Weybrecht. "Finding these new uses of the
benefits of flying really makes a difference in a child's
life."
Her young flyers come mostly from the Cleveland area, but have
been known to drive down from as far as Pennsylvania. And whereas
once she contacted hospital social workers, child life specialists,
and other children's charities to find children who wanted to take
flight, much of her new clientele now comes from word-of-mouth.
In 2003, 30 children and their families received flights from
Burke Lakefront Airport; this past year, more than 300 children
flew.
Maria, 23, is also working the educational side of her
organization, conducting sensitivity training in the classroom to
teach healthy children about children who are ill; why they might
lose their hair, or have less energy than before. Maria's vision is
to expand the concept from Cleveland to a national scale. With a
volunteer publicist, her story and Kids In Flight have gone
national, with a positive response.
Most satisfying for
Maria is seeing kids smile when they get out of the plane. "It's
rewarding for me that they feel just like a "kid" for a little
while."
In the meantime, Maria is studying for both an MBA and a
graduate certificate in non-profit management.
In May, Kids in Flight will celebrate its two year anniversary
of non-profit status with a black-tie silent auction event at the
100th Bomb Group restaurant in Cleveland.
The next annual Kids in Flight and "Wings of Wonder" day is
slated for July 21, in Cleveland. Volunteer organizations like the
National Weather Service, NASA, and local science centers will
conduct programs for all who attend.