SOUTHWEST FLORIDA HONOR FLIGHT INC

Southwest Florida Honor Flight is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. We are a local hub of the National Honor Flight Network. Southwest Florida Honor Flight Hub #7 serves Veterans from Charlotte, Desoto, Hardee, Hendry, Highlands and Sarasota counties. Southwest Florida Honor Flight was established in 2007 and we have proudly taken over 2,000 Veterans to Washington D.C.---free of charge—for one day to see the monuments in their honor and receive the welcome home they deserve.

Information: Each flight is a one-day event. Veterans are assigned a guardian who is there to help them on the flight and around D.C. for the entire day. Breakfast, boxed Lunch and Dinner are provided. Veterans will spend the day on motor coach buses stopping at numerous memorials in their honor. These stops are generally about 45 minutes in length and have included WWII Memorial, Korean War Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Arlington National Cemetery, Women in Military Service for America Memorial, US Marine Corps Memorial, and the Air Force Memorial. Guardians pay their own way.

The Veterans and their families benefit from our organization. They can visit monuments that are there to honor them, as well as honoring those they served with, many of whom made the ultimate sacrifice. Many of these Veterans would never see these monuments if it weren’t for an Honor Flight trip.

Veterans and guardians must submit an application online or by mail. Seats are filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Top priority is given to our WWII and Korean Veterans and those with health conditions that may not allow them the ability to go on a future flight, but Veterans from all eras are welcome.

Our funding is completely from donations and local fundraising efforts as well as sponsorships and grants from organizations. Our funds are closely monitored by the treasurer’s reports. Our annual budget is determined by the cost of the flight (currently, one flight is $110,000 in expenses - chartered flight and buses, food, materials, etc.). SWFL Honor Flight, Inc. has absolutely no paid employees, so rest assured 100% of your donation goes to our mission and our Veterans.

Our organization is 100% volunteer-operated. We have an elected board of directors who receive no compensation and we have no paid staff. We have a monthly Hub meeting where community members from across our six counties gather to plan and learn about upcoming events as well as volunteer for upcoming missions.

We hold a monthly meeting at various locations to be accessible to community members.