LEESBURG, FL--(Marketwire - March 30, 2011) - Mercy Flight™ Southeast, a 27-year-old volunteer pilot organization that coordinates free air transportation for children and adults with medical or compelling humanitarian needs, announced today that it has launched a new donor support network named MercyMiles™ that can be found at MercyMiles.org. MercyMiles is a unique way for friends, family, and charitable donors to help sponsor the coordination efforts of a flight for a patient in their time of need.
"This is a simple yet powerful way to make a difference in someone's life when they are at their most vulnerable," said Blake Mathis, CEO of Mercy Flight™ Southeast. "For the cost of a cup of coffee, donors using MercyMiles.org can help make a free, private flight possible for someone in need of critical, often life-saving medical treatment."
Similar to a frequent flier program, MercyMiles allows individuals to purchase miles for as little as $1 to help coordinate treatment or compassion flights for those in need. Visitors to www.MercyMiles.org can view the medical or humanitarian need for a flight or mission, the distance passengers are traveling, and other important information. Donors can also view and choose to support patients with a specific type of illness. Donors have the option of adopting some or all of the miles for a particular mission. Groups or individuals can also purchase a block of miles through the MercyMiles program to be used towards a number of different missions. Once a mission has been accepted by a volunteer Mercy Flight pilot; donors can follow it in real-time through a partnership with FlightAware, an online flight tracking program.
Donations to MercyMiles will help ease the pain of patients who require access to safe, quick travel during their time of greatest need. Critical flight needs could include a young child with cancer that needs to travel for treatment, a friend who needs a transplant, or blind veteran needing transportation to the V.A. to attend a visually impaired program. Most patients with compromised immune systems are unable to use public airline travel, making MercyMiles and Mercy Flight Southeast an important part of a patient's treatment regimen.
"At least once in their lives, nearly everyone has been left feeling helpless because they were unable to assist someone they love with a life threatening illness," continued Mathis. "Adopting miles on MercyMiles.org is an easy way to help and to become involved. You CAN participate. You CAN make a difference. You CAN take to the skies and help us fulfill the mission by adopting flights through MercyMiles whether it's an individual, work group, youth group, church or family; this way, anyone can help at any level they would like."
For more information on Mercy Flight™ Southeast or if you know someone who needs assistance, please visit www.MercyFlightSE.org or call (800) 352-4256.
To adopt a mission, please visit www.MercyMiles.org.
Contact Information:
Media Contact:
Blake Mathis
352-326-0800