There's a patient that needs to get from Homer, Alaska to Anchorage for chemotherapy.

it's a long car ride, but it's a pretty short flight.

Hi.

My name is Tom Kleeman.

I'm a volunteer pilot for Angel Flight West Alaska division.

Clear.

The thing that makes Alaska most interesting from an aviation standpoint is its massive size.

And yet 82% isn't serviced by roads.

So I'm getting in now.

Yeah.

So you can stand on this.

Alright.

Angel Flights, an organization that actually started about 40 years ago and its purpose was to take private pilots who had aircraft and were willing to donate their time, their airplane, their fuel to help people that needed to get to facilities There are a lot of unique situations in Alaska.

And people get sick the way they do in the lower 48, they get injured.

But, the needs are a little bit different here because you can't just get in your car and go down to the urgent care visit.

The cost of traveling to health care, the most important reason why people don't get health care.

it's certainly not a money saving endeavor.

In fact, flying in general, it's been said that it's the way to make a small fortune out of a large fortune.

But the reality is you're going to go flying anyway.

And you love flying, and you'd rather be in the air with the birds sometimes than on the ground.

Since I joined Angel Flight back in the 1980s, I've kind of lost count of all the flights I've done.

But interestingly, I remember the faces of the patients I've flown, and that kind of sticks with you forever.

And I think that's the basis of volunteerism in general, is that you don't just do it because you're helping someone, you're also helping yourself.

And that combination of helping and being helped is, I think what makes a society.

This episode of Every Little Bit is made possible with support by Rasmuson Foundation.