Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 19

Reaching Out A Story to Celebrate the Launch of ISTAT AirLink: The Humanitarian Initiative of the ISTAT Foundation By Bob Brown, Partner, Vx Capital Partners, Former ISTAT Foundation Chairman Malawi, Africa: Imagine Kausiwa, a healthy baby girl born in Malawi, a country in southwestern Africa. Imagine that at the age of 12 months she develops trachoma—a debilitating eye infection that affects 50 percent of infants in Malawi. The infection, if left untreated, causes preventable blindness. There is a simple and effective treatment for trachoma—the antibiotic azithromycin, which can reverse the effects within several weeks. Although in the developed world, antibiotics like azithromycin are readily available, this is not the case in Malawi and many other developing countries. Now imagine an NGO (non-governmental organization) in a nearby village with the mission to serve distressed children in Malawi. Such an organization might be Iris Ministries, which recently received a shipment of azithromycin. Within several weeks of receiving treatment, Kausiwa’s sight would return, and she would resume a normal Malawian childhood; it’s a hard life but not an impossible one. A variety of organizations combined to deliver this medicine to Kausiwa and other Malawians; one of them was the ISTAT Foundation, which arranged for this shipment to be transported from Toronto by Air Canada and South African Airways and handled by Access Air, all at no charge to Iris Ministries. What follows is the story of how the ISTAT Foundation entered the business of humanitarian-aid shipments. the advancement of aviation education through grants and scholarships. These programs flourish today with the primary emphasis on scholarships. In 2009, the Foundation granted $130,000 in scholarships to 18 students from nine different countries. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Foundation began to fund humanitarian relief missions in which commercial aircraft were used to deliver aid. The Foundation began to explore humanitarian efforts as it sensed an interest among its 1,700 members to give back to the larger world community in a way that leveraged its unique assets—harnessing the use of commercial aircraft. In November 2008, the Foundation board of trustees furthered its humanitarian efforts by beginning to design and implement a proprietary program. A consultant was retained with both aviation and NGO experience, and he was charged with generating several options for the Foundation board to pursue. After analyzing various options, the board decided to develop a Web-based program to connect NGOs with airlines for the purpose of scheduling discounted or donated humanitarian flights. Thus, AirLink was born. The idea was to add structure to a process in which many airlines were already involved. Typically, the process had been ad hoc and disorganized, thereby limiting the number of flights that were actually completed. The overall strategy that emerged was the simplification and organization of a process for airlines to encourage as many humanitarian flights as possible. AirLink would be the method through which airlines could outsource M Giving Back the acquisition and execution of humanitarian flight opportunities. Further Development Throughout 2009, the Foundation assembled a team to develop the concept. Early advocates included ISTAT members Terry McGaughan, myself, Warren Willits and Jack McHale. Overseeing the project for the Foundation board were incoming Foundation Chairman David Sutton and Trustee (and ISTAT Past President) Mike Platt. In July 2009, Omni Air International hosted a working group meeting for the project (initially named “ISTAT 911” and “Project G”). Attendees included representatives of airlines, NGOs and various ISTAT member firms. Through these discussions, the organizers developed deeper confidence in the concept. Each of the representatives donated time and resources to the project—a concept essential to the overall success of the program. The name “ISTAT AirLink” was selected from among several finalists, and a design logo was adopted. The tagline “A Humanitarian Initiative of the ISTAT Foundation” was also adopted. The Foundation board then challenged the organizers with a proof of concept— or arranging a donated or discounted flight. The specific need was identified by Philip Schatz of Mercy Corps, a member of the July working-group session. Terry Jetrader 19 Since its founding in 1993, the ISTAT Foundation has focused primarily on

Jetrader - March/April 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Jetrader - March/April 2010

Jetrader - March/April 2010
A Message from the President
Contents
Calendar/News
Q&A: Gil Speed
The Return to a New Normal
The Funding Gap
Reaching Out
The Gift of a Lifetime
Aircraft Appraisals
From the ISTAT Foundation
Aviation History
Advertiser Index
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Jetrader - March/April 2010
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Cover2
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - A Message from the President
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 4
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Contents
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 6
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Calendar/News
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Q&A: Gil Speed
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 9
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 10
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 11
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - The Return to a New Normal
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 13
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - The Funding Gap
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 15
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 16
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 17
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 18
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Reaching Out
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 20
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 21
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 22
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - The Gift of a Lifetime
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 24
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 25
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 26
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Aircraft Appraisals
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 28
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 29
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 30
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - From the ISTAT Foundation
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Aviation History
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - 33
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Advertiser Index
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Cover3
Jetrader - March/April 2010 - Cover4
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