The Community Foundation grants $5,000 to Honor Flight Central Coast
–The Community Foundation SLO County has awarded a $5,000 grant to Honor Flight of the Central Coast. The gift marks the first time Honor Flight has been selected for funding by the Community Foundation, a countywide community resource for charitable giving.
Honor Flight of the Central Coast provides all-expense-paid trips to Washington DC for local senior veterans. More than 325 area veterans have made the trip with Honor Flight of the Central Coast since the local chapter formed in 2014. Trip attendees experience a guided tour of military memorials and monuments and other points of interest in the DC area.
According to Bear McGill, president of the local organization, the group hosts three all-expense-paid trips for a total of 66 local veterans each year. He said the most recent Honor Flight returned to a rousing welcome home at the SLO County Airport on Sept. 11. “Every flight receives a powerful return reception,” McGill said, “but to be part of this one on the anniversary of 9-11 was especially moving. We were reminded that our military and public safety heroes range in age from 18 to 98, and every one of them helps us feel safe.”
Honor Flight is an all-volunteer group that coordinates trip hosting and logistics and tackles raising the $100,000 needed to keep the program moving each year. McGill said The Community Foundation gift was doubly appreciated, both because of the group’s stature in the community, as well as Honor Flight’s success in submitting a winning application. “We are proud to have won a spot on the Community Foundation Honor Roll,” he said.
Honor Flight of the Central Coast is making one more trip in 2019. To inquire about future trips or be part of the SLO Airport “Welcome Home” celebration honoring the veterans as they return from their trips, send an email to info@honorflightccc.org.
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