Flights of Joy – Angel Flight West’s Adopt a Family Program: Volunteer pilots deliver gifts to Angel Flight West passengers across the Western United States.
DATE: Flights generally take place between December 1 – 23
Story:
Angel Flight West’s volunteer pilots are transforming their planes into sleighs, bringing holiday joy to families struggling with medical or personal hardships and the financial burdens related to their healing and recovery.
Angel Flight West (AFW) provides free flights year-round for people who need to travel long distances to access medical care. And during the holidays, they deliver something extra.
Flights of Joy, AFW’s Adopt a Family program, started in 2020 during the COVID pandemic. Knowing that many families battling illnesses were also experiencing financial hardships, Angel Flight West’s staff and volunteers wanted to bring more joy to the holidays for our passengers.
Over the past four years, more than 150 volunteers have brightened the holiday season for 60 families across our region. Recipients meet AFW volunteers at their local airports on Adopt a Family Day where children receive their colorfully wrapped gifts and have the chance to meet the pilots who made it all possible.
This year, more than dozens of AFW pilots have signed up to help families in Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington, and Wyoming.
For these special missions, our pilots go above and beyond their traditional donation of time, talent, and resources, to cover the cost of all the gifts and to visit with families on the airfield.
