Mission Flight
The folks from Mission Flight proved to be the perfect speakers for our Valentine’s Day meeting since it was clear that they have huge hearts. Their mission statement is: Thru the air and on the ground Mission Flight compassionately connects people in need with hope, help and healing. The main ways they live out their mission statement is thru dental clinics, eye clinics, medical clinics and a backpack giveaway program in rural Mexico. They mainly serve the migrant workers who work 6 days a week, 11 h ours a day for about $9 an hour. Their employer provides them housing but it is squalor conditions. They also do not have fluoridated water so their teeth are in extremely bad shape. To date they have served more than 3,800 people.
Locally, they have a program called Angel Flight Medical Transportation which flies people to receive treatment when the distance is too long to drive or time is of the essence. The planes and pilots are all volunteers. In addition, they have a program called SOAR which stands for Shine Overcome Ascent Rejoice. This program helps build self-esteem and self-confidence in special needs children by taking them up in the airplane and then allowing them to co-pilot the plane on the last leg of the trip they fly out of El Monte Airport and fly over the Rose Bowl or Dodger Stadium and then back to El Monte. Once they are back, they are greeted by a red carpet and lots of people who are cheering them on as they walk down the red carpet to receive their co-pilot certificate. The next SOAR is in June and the Rotarians decided that they would like to be the cheerleaders for that flight. Stay tuned for more details.