Our Causes
Our vision was to build a company that makes a difference, both in the aviation industry and in our community.
We give back to our community doing what we do best – flying airplanes.
One of our more exciting missions involved the transport of abused dogs rescued from a puppy mill in Missouri to California, where they received medical attention, rehabilitation, and new homes. This was our first face-to-face interaction with puppy mill rescues, so we weren’t prepared for what we saw.
Here’s a video taken after we landed with the puppies in California.
Here’s a photo of the puppies the first night in foster care, after getting their first bath!
Here’s a photo of another former puppy mill rescue that Denise and Rob transported to his new home.
We’ve volunteered our aircraft in coordination with Angel Flight West, returning children and counselors home from Camp Laurel, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of children, youth and families living with HIV and AIDS.
We’ve donated our aircraft for use in a fundraising auction benefiting the Boys and Girls Club of the Coachella Valley, and a second flight benefiting the educational programs of the Living Desert.
We sponsor an annual scholarship for aspiring aviators. Here is Denise presenting Stacey Kotrla with the scholarship in February 2010 at the Women in Aviation Conference in Orlando, Florida. The deadline for the 2011 scholarship is in December 2010. For more information on this scholarship please see our scholarship page.
Stacey Kotrla and Denise Wilson
We participated in Cessna’s Special Olympics airlift in both 2006 and 2010. This year we flew the Southern California Bocce and Golf teams to the National Games in Lincoln, Nebraska. What a fun group!
Desert Jet has teamed with the Connor Burton Aviation Foundation to help spread the word about career opportunities available to college students in the corporate and charter aviation industries. Hear the NBAA Flight Plan podcast below.
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