Please consider a contribution to help end polio forever. We can't do it without you. Donation levels for our flight are:
-
Wingman:
$5,000 or greater
-
Commander: $750 - $4,999
-
Captain: $300 - $749
-
Co-Pilot: $25 - $299
Click here to visit our donation page and remember, for each dollar you contribute, the Gates Foundation will match your donation 2:1.
The primary focus of this flight is to bring awareness to the suffering caused by the highly infectious polio virus and to raise funds to help eradicate polio around the world. We are grateful for the efforts and leadership provided by the Rotary Foundation and the 2:1 match by The Bill Gates Foundation.
We ask you to donate NOW to the Rotary Foundation and help us end polio. Your donation, regardless of size, can make all the difference in the world. With the generous pledge by The Bill Gates Foundation your donation will be increased $2.00 for every $1.00 you donate.
When flying over water, we will take the safety precautions of wearing immersion suits and packing a four man raft with emergency supplies, satellite phones and personal tracking devices.
We are mindful that this trip is something experienced by very few in the history of flight. This will not be an easy mission. We are dependent on only one engine for the duration of the trip over some of the most rugged terrain in the world. Some of the longest flight legs are ten hours long! One of the longest legs is entirely over the North Atlantic - St. John, Newfoundland to Santa Maria Azores, Portugal.
We invite you to follow our flight live (with a five minute delay) on our website and watch our flight videos that we will post throughout the flight.
All of our flight plans are subject to the function of the plane, weather, and political unrest.
We will have handlers to help us throughout our flight - people to meet us at airports, help us procure fuel, and assist in translation. At each stop, we plan to meet with other Rotarians as well as locals to spread the word about ending polio forever.
We will do everything we can to spread the message about
eradicating polio. Please join us
in our flight by donating NOW to the Rotary Foundation. Show your support and join the Flight to End Polio.
Check back for updates on our flight before departure and during the flight!
THANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS DONORS!
WINGMEN:
Herb & Janice Wilson
Andy & Kathy Ockenfels
John Luckstead
COMMANDERS:
Bruce Dunbar
Erna Morain
Meredith Karns
Charles Rohde
Mark Ruggeberg and
Bob Brooks
LaDonna Wicklund
Gary Wicklund
Helen Arnold
Dana Nichols
Community Foundation for Pete Wallace
Willis Bywater
Kris Ockenfels
John Buchanan
Meardon, Sueppel & Downer, PLC
Rotary Club Lisboa International, Portugal
Martine Tournade da la Fontaine
Catherine Hivet
Fernando Duarte
Steve Dakin
Armando Barreira
Rotary Club Almeirim, Portugal
CAPTAINS:
Larry Iversen
Joe Zachar, Jr.
John Bryant
Donald Flannery
Rotary Club Lisboa Benfica, Portugal
Rotary Club Ponta Delgada, Portugal
Rotary Club of West Bend Sunrise, Wisconsin
Cheryl Holt
Russell V. Michaletz
Dean Wuebker
St. Augustine, Florida Sunrise Rotary Club
Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines
Audrey Savage
Newton, Iowa Rotary
Norm Van Klopenburg
Ann Romanowski
Hazel Seaba
Barbara Randall
Norman Rahe
Donald & Wilma Sanders
Al Bonney
Steve Keifer
Pamela Malloy
Aaron Marshall
Nancy Steyers
LeRoy Mann
Stanley White
Julie Johnson
Nicole Maul
Dennis Keitel
Jacquelynn Andrew
Kevin Kacere
Miguel Marco Real Mendes
José Pedro Antunes Salgado
José Carlos da Costa Álvares Rosmaninho
Rotary Club Lisboa Olivais, Portugal
Rotary Club Portela, Portugal
Amílcar Barata Salgueiro
Luís Manuel Araújo
Richard Goldschmidt
Rui Vidal Matoso
Lisa Cash Wiese
Wiese Construction
Mark S. Patton
Charles B. Green
Peterson Douglas
VL Struzynski Olson
Patti Kunz
Camilla M. Streuter
RuthSuzanne Gibson
Vilia Sauerberg
Larry McGee
Pam Kalkhoff
Mark Stanley
Julie Summa
Jeanne L. West
Barb Thomas
Joel Schmidt
Nicole Harmer
Julie L. Coppock
Connie Wisnousky
Amy Nicholson
Matthew Teply
Kimberly Kudej
Stephen West
Steven & Karen Laughlin
Bernard & Cherie Cremers
Eric Weiler
Tara Minetos
Brenda & Wes LaMarche
Deb Dunkhase
Deb Galbraith
Teresa Burns
Roxanne Mitchell
Nancy Pacha
Margaret Winkler
Casey Cook
Elizabeth Belding
Chris Knapp
Vernette Knapp
Elizabeth Loeb
Amanda McFadden
Donald & Kristine Meyer
Carolyn Wanat
Sharon Stepanek
Donald LeBlanc
Douglass Deardorff
Sue Rasmussen
Dick Rasmussen
Benjamin S. Horton
Douglas J. Horton
Kenneth R. Noble
Rose Mary Beadle
James E. Olson
Daniel J. Beadle
Brian Adamec
Herbert Wilson
John B. Kennedy
Reinier Hesselink
Roxane McCrane
Roy E. Robertson
Christa Nelson
Ken Kolek
Bruce Lindholm
David Poorvu
Louis Stepanek
Mary Burback
Judy Schneiderman
Stanley White
Lance Renfroe
Laurie Brandenburg
Dorothy Hinman
Steven Quigley
S. Anderson
Amanda Ueltschy
Shawn Rhinehart
James Klein
Gary Wagner
Mark Dimke
CO-PILOTS:
THANK YOU TO OUR
CORPORATE SPONSORS!
Thanks to the vaccine, polio has been eliminated in the U.S. for over 30 years. But the debilitating effects of polio still impact so many individuals and families.
Will you share with us how polio has affected your life? Please email us at flighttoendpolio@gmail.com with your story. We will be compiling these stories to bring along on our flight as a reminder of why we are taking on this endeavor. Until polio is gone forever, a resurgence is only one flight away.
You may provide us with your story anonymously or feel free to include names, photos and contact information. This information will only be shared with the pilots, John and Peter.
Click here to read Lisa's personal story. Thank you for sharing with us, Lisa.
Bill Bywater of the Iowa City Noon Rotary Club tells us his memory of the impact of polio on the community of Iowa City, Iowa during the 1940s - click the play button to listen. Thanks for this information, Bill.
In the video below, Robert and AnnMarie Ketron share their story and discuss how Robert's brother's polio diagnosis impacted their family. Thank you for this, Robert and AnnMarie!
Don't see your name listed? Please email us at flighttoendpolio@gmail.com.