Cheers to 4 Years!
Spring weather is finally in the air which brought to mind that today, May 4th is the four year anniversary of our first Dream Flight ever. For those of you who are not familiar with our organization, Dream Flight Days take place once a month and bring together pilots, volunteers, and kids to enjoy a day of fun through the wonder of flight. Dream Flyers are greeted at our airport base with bells and whistles by our volunteers and escorted to the Above the Clouds Pilot Lounge where they are introduced to their pilot. Together the Dream Flyer and Dream Pilot develop a “Dream Flight Plan” before embarking on a 30-60 minute flight during which the Dream Flyer sits in the co-pilot seat and even helps fly the plane!
It was a beautiful Spring day on May 4, 2013 when we launched our first ever Dream Flight Day. Our first Dream Flyer was a twelve year-old boy from Taunton named Anthony who had received a kidney transplant eight months prior at Floating Hospital for Children at Tufts Medical Center. He was so ecstatic and eager to take flight that it was contagious and made everyone feel the same way. Anthony and his pilot went on an aerial tour of the Boston area including Fenway Park and even his Taunton neighborhood. His mother was also very happy with how the day went saying, “After him being in the hospital so long, just that little time away was a really good thing and took his mind off everything. It was a breath of fresh air.”
Giving Anthony a chance to soar after everything he had been through is what Above the Clouds is all about. Above the Clouds was created out of a desire to marry two passions: aviation and helping ill, disabled and underprivileged children and teens. Since meeting Anthony 4 years ago we have been able to accomplish so much including serving 75 Dream Flyers in 2016 and hopefully even more this year! Therefore, as we look to the future we will continue bringing joy and hope through the wonder of flight to many new Dream Flyers, but we will always hold a special place in our heart for our first Dream Flyer, Anthony.