Acknowledging Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, two corporate aviators helped launch an effort to raise $1 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, inspired by the child of one of the pilots, Rob Switz. The effort has garnered support from the Atlantic Aviation FBO chain as well as FlightAware. Switz's daughter Libby, age nine, is now cancer-free after being diagnosed with brain cancer at 11 months old, thanks to her treatment at St. Jude.
According to the FBO company, “Atlantic Aviation is excited and proud to support St. Jude Children's Research Hospital during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. We recognize the vital role St. Jude plays in pioneering research and providing life-saving treatments and are committed to raising awareness to support children and families battling cancer.”
The campaign began on September 1, with Atlantic Aviation placing tent cards with QR codes for donating at its 105 FBOs. The company is matching contributions that come through that QR code up to $10,000, according to Eric Newman, Atlantic Aviation v-p, commercial strategy and sustainability. “This is a great opportunity for us to focus on a really important organization. We’re excited to support this, it’s a great cause, and we want the aviation industry to coalesce around it.”
FlightAware has also joined the campaign by donating 500,000 impressions on its website.