Two charities teamed up to give youngsters with life-limiting illnesses a day to remember at Bournemouth Airport.
Aviation charity, fly2help, and Bournemouth-based charity, Amelia’s Rainbow, joined forces to organise an ‘Air Smiles’ day for eleven children and their families.
All of the children, who have life-limiting illnesses and severe disabilities, received VIP treatment at the airport.
Activities included using the hoses of a Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue engine and trying the siren of a National Police Air Service car.
However, the highlight for many was a flight in a Gulfstream G450 aircraft.
Lyn Hartman, a fly2help trustee, said: “The huge grins on the faces of the children after the flight was a delight. One little girl told me the best bit was ‘we flew right into a cloud’.
“We’re so grateful to all the volunteers who made the day so special and a particular big thank you to Bliss Aviation, Gama Aviation and Bournemouth Airport.”
She added: “In the last three years, alone, our Air Smiles programme has given 1,000 beneficiaries a day full of smiles and memories using the power of flight.”
Amelia’s Rainbow is a charity that was set up following the death of eight-year-old Amelia Grace Cooper in 2010, who died of an aggressive form of childhood cancer called neuroblastoma.
The charity supports children across Dorset suffering from a life-limiting illness or disability.
Stephen Gill, Bournemouth Airport’s Managing Director, said: “Both fly2help and Amelia’s Rainbow are fantastic charities and we were only too pleased to play our part in providing the youngsters, and their families, a day to remember.”
To find out more about the charities visit www.fly2help.org and www.ameliasrainbow.org
For more local news click here.