Wings of Mercy is a charitable organization based in West Michigan that flies patients to their medical destinations who would not otherwise be able to travel there. Pilots and plane owners donate their time for each mission.
In 1991, Mark, Wayne Jarvis and I chose to offer our company plane to fly patients that Wings of Mercy would refer to us. Since then we have flown over 246,000 miles (about 10 times around the world) and over 1400 hours in the air. We have flown 361 flights since 1991 for Wings. Most flights are to Rochester, MN where the Mayo Clinic is located. We have also flown patients to Denver (a pediatric asthma specialist), Raleigh, NC (lung transfer specialists), Baltimore, Florida, Pennsylvania, Maine, Massachusetts, as well as many other locations. Wings of Mercy, and their 30 other planes and pilots, fly about 225 charitable flights per year.
This past March we flew someone from West Michigan who, at 64, had a debilitating stroke in Pennsylvania. We also flew a 3 year old boy, who is one of 4 quadruplets, from a specialty hospital in Boston to his home in Grand Rapids. He had spent most of his young life in the hospital along with his brother and two sisters who were all born prematurely and 2 pounds or under at birth.
It is a very humbling experience to fly these folks who struggle so much with chronic illnesses in their family. It certainly makes me, as their pilot, feel blessed for the health we have. The families are so grateful to Eagle Alloy and Wings of Mercy for taking one burden off their plate.
Wings of Mercy – Muskegon Care Affaire Fundraiser – June 9, 2018
To participate in the next Wings of Mercy fundraising event, join us on Saturday, June 9th at 8AM, at the Executive Air Transport at the Muskegon Co. Airport (KMKG).
The day’s events will include a pancake breakfast and fly-in, as well as the 5K Run For Wings walk/run race.
Visit the Wings of Mercy events page for more information, or to register for the event. All proceeds from registration will go directly to Wings of Mercy.