A Message from Mike
I'm sure we can all think of things going on in our life two years ago. I had been volunteering for a year at Midwest Access Coalition doing IT security and privacy work while also establishing Elevated Access in my free time with their encouragement. It was just three pilots then: myself and two others. When the Dobbs decision leaked, I knew I had to try to find more pilots, so I reached out to Adrian aka cheesepilot on TikTok. Thanks to his content going viral, we added hundreds of pilots and raised enough funds that I could launch and run the organization full-time with a lot more flights than expected.
As we celebrate our second anniversary today, I am amazed by the generosity of our volunteer pilots and donors. We've been able to onboard more than 100 organizations around the country to send us referrals for abortion and gender-affirming care support. We've taken on flying not only patients but also providers who commute to clinics away from where they live. We've been able to utilize airline flights to make sure no one is left behind when distance, maintenance, or weather gets in the way.
I could tell you a number of stories from my own experience as a volunteer pilot, but I'll share a little of one passenger. My passenger had never flown on an airplane, not even an airline. She was excited but nervous. She had no idea that abortion had been banned in her state, and she thought her situation might be hopeless. However, her sister had heard there were organizations out there to help pay for her care and provide the support she needed to get to her care. She told me she was amazed by the generosity of everyone involved. When she said that, I didn't just think of myself or even our other volunteers, our staff, or our partners. I also thought of each of you. You make this generosity possible, and I am honored to be one of the faces our passengers get to see helping them.
Thank you,
-Mike B
Executive Director
(Here are a few pieces from our social media accounts to mark this anniversary, but you can find more by visiting Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok.)
800 FLIGHTS COMPLETED!
We continue to grow our flight volume at a rapid place. In September, we had completed our 400th flight. Barely six months later, we finished another 400. To date, we've flown more than 1200 people.
HONORING OUR PILOTS
A second anniversary is meaningless without the volunteer pilots who make it happen. Our pilots help us in many ways. Besides flying passengers for free to get them to their healthcare, they also help us tell our story to help us recruit more volunteers and build awareness.
CELEBRATING VOLUNTEER WEEK
It takes more than pilots to get these flights airborne. We use volunteers in a number of roles from fundraising to marketing to pilot recruitment to events and more. If you're one of those volunteers, please know that we value you immensely. We know that volunteer capacity can come and go, and we appreciate any time that you can give us.
Kim is one of our hundreds of volunteer pilots. She'll always have a special place for us as one of the two pilots who flew our first relay flight to get someone halfway across the country. Check out her "why" on our Instagram.