Creative Agents of Change: Heroes Aren't Hard to Find

My inbox has been overflowing this week with stories of people who are pitching in to help their fellow citizens.

Angel Flight America has been organizing hundreds of volunteer pilots to fly relief missions, carrying supplies in and displaced people out of the affected areas. "So far we've been operating in and out of the larger airports, but the next step, starting this week, is to start sending volunteer pilots into the smaller fields, near the more remote towns and villages," Patterson said. Working around the clock, AFA has been flying as many as 100 missions per day, working with hundreds of pilots and aircraft. More pilots are always needed, and can register online or call 877-858-7788. "We're putting together a rotation schedule, so pilots can work for four or five days and then go home, so they don't burn out," Patterson said. The need is expected to last at least another two or three months. Besides volunteer pilots and aircraft, AFA also welcomes donations. So far, fuel has been attainable, Patterson said, but "The cost is just killing us." (Thanks to AVweb for the story.)

Also from AVweb, "Operation Brother's Keeper ," based in Atlanta, grew from an effort to provide empty vacation rentals as free temporary shelter to evacuees along with free air transportation. Now they are coordinating the work of volunteer pilots and medical personnel to get into the devastated regions and transport victims out. "We organized on Tuesday and began operations on Thursday [last week]," spokesman Milo Pinckney told AVweb yesterday. They're staging out of Baton Rouge, where they are taking people from shelters and flying them to Atlanta, then on to safe housing donated by vacation-home owners. "So far we've flown 184 sorties in two and a half days, and transported at least a couple hundred people out of a deplorable situation, and reunited families who'd been separated," Pinckney said. "We have 164 aircraft, 240 physicians, and 190 vacation homes." His wife, Gail, operates a vacation-rental company, and he is CFO of a physicians' group and the owner of a Navajo. At first their offers were stonewalled by officials who told them to submit proposals and documents. "All of these medical personnel and pilots already are licensed, and there are leases and contracts for the houses," he said. "We needed to get those people out of there." After more calls to politicians and contacts in Washington, he finally got through to the governor of Louisiana, who gave him authorization to operate. This Tuesday, they extended operations into the city of New Orleans itself, and Milo says they'll keep flying as long as they can, and as long as there's a need. "It's the citizen's responsibility to pitch in, when you have the means, and you have an aircraft and all that training. Time to put it to use," he said. At their Web site, Brother's Keeper is compiling a database of pilots, physicians, and anyone with food, clothing or housing to donate. The phone number is 404-783-1836 or 404-783-1846.

Here in Denver, the Dave Matthews Band added another night to their Red Rocks concert schedule and invited the Neville Brothers. Tickets sold out in minutes, and all proceeds from the show, expected to be over $1M, will go to relief efforts. First Data bought a large block of premium seats to donate to some of the New Orleans residents who now find themselves living in dorms at the former Lowry Air Force base.

And from Ernie the Attorney, a heartwarming story about Google reaching out to its affected customers.

Comments

So many heroes. I would like to see someone write a book that focused just on those who took action and made a difference. Thanks for the positive post Marilyn.

Posted by: Trée | September 10, 2005 at 12:10 PM