Nov. 16, 2020

Responding to the diverse hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Massachusetts Business Aviation Association (MBAA) is rolling out its first-ever charitable donation challenge to its membership and others that want to help.

“We wanted to do something to give back to the community,” said MBAA Executive Director Russ Arena. “We specifically chose three diverse charities that can all benefit from our help.” According to Arena, MBAA board member Pam Day came up with the initial idea.

MBAA will match all member donations up to $2,500 per organization. They include Corporate Angel Network, the Greater Boston Food Bank and Boston MedFlight. The donation challenge will continue at least through Dec. 1, 2020. More information on the challenge and information about each charity can be found on www.massbizav.org.

“We hope our members and sponsors will help and exceed our matching donations to make this challenge a monumental success,” said Arena.

Normally, MBAA puts on three major events a year and hosts networking get-togethers for its more than 200 members and sponsors. “Since we weren’t able to do any events this year, we wanted to do something that would make an impact on the community,” said Arena. As another example of the group’s pay-it-forward thinking, Arena pointed to the estimated $10,000 in aviation scholarships MBAA gave out earlier this year.

NBAA Northeast Regional Representative Brittany Davies noted that MBAA’s charitable donation challenge is emblematic of the efforts and willingness of the business aviation community to help out in times of need.

“In Massachusetts, as well as states and locations across the nation, regional business aviation groups have been stepping up to help their neighbors and communities,” said Davies. “From donation efforts such as MBAA’s, to flying patients and PPE and more, business aviation is dedicated to giving back.”