Month: November 2021

Thanks and Giving

thegreatplanes

It’s hard to believe that another Thanksgiving has come and gone. Black Friday and Cyber Monday are (thankfully!) past us too. Now, for the good stuff.

Today is Giving Tuesday, a “global generosity movement unleashing the power of people and organizations to transform their communities and the world.” The movement began in 2012 and almost a decade later is still going strong.

Personally, I have a lot to be grateful for. I’m happy and healthy, working my dream job in a city I love, and surrounded by the greatest family and friends (and fuzzy friends!) on Earth. With that, I feel it’s my duty to give back, and I’m very grateful to be able to do so.

I just wrapped up my second annual fundraiser, and am so proud to announce that thanks to the kindness of those who helped spread the word and those who purchased 2022 The Great Planes calendars, we raised $750 for Los Angeles-based Pet Rescue Pilots! I am beyond thrilled to have been able to make this donation on behalf of myself, my family, my friends and my fellow Av Geeks, on this Giving Tuesday.

Friends… I can’t stress enough the importance of giving back. If you’re in the position to do so, I highly encourage you to give your time or money to an organization near and dear to YOUR heart. And if you don’t have one in mind, consider showing some love to my friends at Pet Rescue Pilots.

Again, thank you so much. May your hearts be full and your holidays warm!

Help animals in need, order a 2022 TGP calendar!

thegreatplanes

I love aviation. Whether it’s flying, taking photos of airplanes, or watching aviation-themed movies – it’s something that brings me great joy. 

I’m also a huge animal lover. I’ll always go out of my way to help an animal in need, and in fact it was my love of animals that led me to become a vegetarian five years ago. I grew up with cats and dogs – all rescues – and today I couldn’t imagine life without my two best friends: Beans (top) and Buddy.

One of my all-time favorite animal-related experiences was back in my hometown of Minneapolis in 2014, helping to kick off the Animal Humane Society (AHS) “Community Cats” program. Community Cats works to improve the lives of free-roaming and feral cats and reduce the unnecessary euthanasia of healthy cats that are not suitable for adoption.

The program was already in the works when I stumbled upon a litter of kittens outside the parking garage of my Loring Park apartment. Working with AHS, I was able to safely live-trap all of the kittens, who were subsequently spayed/neutered and adopted, as well as the mother, who was spayed and then released back into the wild – the first of roughly 250 cats to be released in the program’s first five months.

You can read more about my experience with Community Cats on page 16 of the Spring/Summer 2015 Animal Tracks magazine.

Last year, I sold calendars featuring my aviation photography, with 100% of the profits going to Wings of Hope – we were able to donate $1,000! Since it was such a success, I figured we needed to do something again this year, which is why I’m selling 2022 calendars with 100% of the profits going to Los Angeles-based Pet Rescue Pilots, a fantastic organization that flies pets out of shelters and brings them safely to rescue groups, fosters and forever homes.

Calendars are $25 each and available to order through Monday, Nov. 15. Please, if you’re able, support this great organization and help get these animals to their forever homes!

Buy a 2022 The Great Planes calendar now