It’s said that “The true meaning of life is to plant trees under whose shade you do not expect to sit”–in other words, to do something that will benefit people you will never meet, or do a good deed with effects that will reach far beyond your own lifetime.
That’s what the Delta Pilots Charitable Fund did for the YMCA of Metropolitan Detroit’s Camp Ohiyesa this week. The pilots donated $150,00 to the Y, $50,000 of which was used to build an Alpine Tower for the high ropes course and $100,000 of which will be used to send 100 kids from Detroit to Camp Ohiyesa forever.
You read that right: 100 kids a year, forever. The $100,000 donation will form an endowment that will alllow for 100 scholarships a year, in perpetuity.
Many kids in Detroit rarely get the chance to get outside the city, and more never get the character-building effects of summer camp. The gift from the Delta Pilots Charitable Fund will allow children who would not ordinarily be able to afford a summer camp experience to spend a week at Camp Ohiyesa.
The other gift was a second Alpine Tower and additional zip lines for the camp’s high ropes and climbing area, which has now been renamed the Delta Pilots High Adventure Area in appreciation of their gift.
On Saturday, Camp Ohiyesa hosted Delta pilots and their families for a day of food and fun camp activities, including the first climbs up the tower.
Captain Jim Breaugh, a board member of the Delta Pilots Charitable Fund, states in a press release that the DPCF supported the YMCA camp because it strengthens the values that parents teach children at home, and helps kids believe in their potential. The pilots hope it will help the children build confidence, character, and friendships, and learn independence and problem- solving skills. Breaugh adds the DPCF was grateful to be able to offer a gift to thousands of kids in the years to come.
The Delta Pilots Charitable Fund is based on donations from individual pilots and is the only charitable fund established, managed and funded by the pilots of a major US airline. They make grants to organizations that serve children in Delta hub cities — more than $1 million in grants to over 50 charitable organizations since the fund was established in 1999.