Five planes flew into the Port Hardy Airport with much needed toy donations for the Gazette Christmas Hamper Fund.
Santa Flight collects and delivers toys to remote or in-need communities in BC. The goal is to use aviation to connect British Columbians and bring holiday cheer from one BC community to another over the holiday season.
“We saw a need last year to help out communities over Christmas time, so I contacted the Victoria Flying Club, as well as a number of other partners, to use aviation to bring the community of Victoria together over the holidays to help and support other communities that are far away and remote,” said Santa Flight organizer J.A. Pankiw-Petty, of JPL Litigation, based in Victoria.
This year they decided to help out Northern Vancouver Island, specifically the Gazette Christmas Hamper Fund, with three planes flying into Port Hardy on Sunday, Dec. 3, full of toys and gifts to help local residents in need this holiday season (two more planes arrived with donations on Friday, Dec. 9, and Monday, Dec. 12).
“It was a real privilege to help out this year,” said Pankiw-Petty. “It’s about supporting people in need that live in remote areas, and it’s a wonderful feeling to be able to help them through aviation.”
Here are some of the organizations/groups that have helped Santa Flight this year:
JPL Litigation; The Victoria Flying Club; Pilot Members of the Victoria Flying Club; Pacific Coastal Airlines; North Saanich Canadian Tire; The Sports Exchange in Vancouver; Jones Emery LLP; and residents of Victoria and Vancouver and surrounding communities.