From left to right: Kevin Gilbert, Second Pilot, Joan Helminiak, James Helminiak, and Elliott Zeltzer, Pilot in Command.
1 MILLION MILES! Wings of Mercy Logs Aviation Milestone in Saving Lives
October 7, 2012
By: Dave Rogers
Wings of Mercy, East Michigan literally flew past a milestone last week.
The all-volunteer pilot organization which flies needy medical patients to distant medical facilities logged its millionth mile of service to the people of East Michigan.
Pilots Elliott Zeltzer and Kevin Gilbert flew Bay City resident Joan Helminiak to Mayo Clinic from MBS International for treatment, crossing the million mile threshold enroute.
It was the 1535th flight for the organization. Since its founding in 1996, more than 260 Wings of Mercy, East Michigan, volunteer pilots have flown over 240 medical patients using more than 100 different aircraft.
Wings of Mercy, East Michigan is an all volunteer group serving all of Eastern Michigan. The IRS has granted the group 501 (c) 3 status as a tax exempt charity.
In June 1991, a group of committed and compassionate pilots met in Holland, Michigan to organize what became Wings of Mercy, Inc. The purpose of Wings of Mercy is to offer air transport at no cost to financially needy persons from the western Michigan who require specialized medical treatment at distant medical centers.
Early on, it became clear that the need was far greater than expected.
Based on experience, upward of 80 percent of our clients would not be able to receive specialized medical treatment if our service was not available.
Newspaper, radio and television coverage helped to expand the service. Soon other aircraft owners volunteered their aircraft at locations throughout Western Michigan.
In early 1996, another group of committed and compassionate pilots in the Midland-Saginaw-Bay City Michigan area contacted Wings of Mercy for assistance in organizing a group to provide similar services for the residents of Eastern Michigan.
This effort grew into Wings of Mercy East Michigan.
All services are performed by volunteers. Aircraft owners/operators are reimbursed for fuel only (which represents only about 1/3 of the actual cost of operating an aircraft), and many refuse even that.
Wings of Mercy East Michigan is funded entirely by charitable contributions. Since there are no paid staff, 100 percent of donations fund operations. Overhead for Wings of Mercy is confined to fuel reimbursements and direct office expenses for mission management (phone/fax, postage, paper, etc.)
Wings of Mercy does not compete with commercial airlines, which our patients/clients cannot afford, or with air ambulance services, which are reserved for more critically ill persons.
More information can be found at www.wingseastmi.org or by calling toll free (877) 32-MERCY, (877) 326-3729.