As one year comes to an end and another is soon to begin, we’re looking back on 2024 with gratitude as we think about all the incredible people and organizations that made this past year possible. One of these organizations is Helijet, whose ongoing support allows us to continue delivering our life-changing programs.
It’s only fitting that Helijet, a company making strides in the boundless field of aviation, goes above and beyond in all that they do – and not just when it comes to flying helicopters. This is an organization that is dedicated not only to what they do, but to fostering community and inclusivity as well, and we are proud to call them a partner.
For more than two decades, Helijet has supported Power To Be through gifts in kind, cash donations, and support in sponsorship and team fundraising for events and programs. The value of these gifts is more than $350,000. By providing flights to our staff, Helijet also makes it possible for our Vancouver and Victoria teams to connect quickly and efficiently, helping us to run programs all over Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
Helijet’s unwavering commitment to community and inclusivity is apparent in their partnership with us, and can be seen and felt in so many of the little things – like how their staff are encouraged to support Power To Be through participation in fundraising events like Power To Play and Power To Summit, not just through raising funds, but by truly getting into the spirit of these events. Or how they’ve worked to promote our vision that everyone belongs in nature through video collaboration and content-sharing on social media platforms (check out our recent collaboration HERE).
Our partnership with Helijet has come full-circle this past year, when Michael, who has joined Power To Be for programs in Vancouver, started working part-time as a Terminal Service Support Agent at Helijet’s Vancouver terminal in July. Michael is on the autism spectrum, and for the first few weeks of the job he worked with Bill, a workplace specialist from posAbilities who supported Michael in getting oriented to the new job.
For over 25 years, Michael has been a fan of Helijet. “I think it started when I was two or three”, he says, about his love of helicopters. His mom started taking him to the Helijet terminal so that he could talk more about helicopters and see them in action, and when Michael was four, his dad took a round-trip flight to Victoria. Watching him land, get out of the helicopter, and walk back towards the terminal in Vancouver that evening became a lasting memory for Michael. “After that happened, I was so lucky to have so many toys of helicopters, and […] after seeing how the real ones took off and land and flew, then I just did that exact same thing with my toys. I just pretended and basically did the same take offs and landings like the Helijet ones, basically the same flight paths too.”
Michael shared a story about one winter when he was very young and brought one of those spinning sprinklers into his house. After giving it a clean, the sprinkler’s body became the aircraft, and the spinning arms became the rotor blades – it became part of his fleet. As Michael is an expert on all things helicopter, he named it “the A-Star NOTAR”, as it had the same engine as the A-Star, but no tail, let alone a tail rotor. In the world of aviation, NOTAR stands for “no tail rotor”, and so – a fitting name for the new addition.
Now, in 2024, Michael is settled into his position at Helijet. He helps keep the terminal clean and organized by washing windows and vehicles, and keeps snacks and supplies well-stocked. You might also find him checking license plates, and monitoring outdoor areas. Michael received a warm welcome from the Helijet team, and when asked if he gets along with his co-workers, he said “of course.” He even shared that this past year for his birthday, after hearing his childhood sprinkler story, a Helijet mechanic gifted him a heavy duty three-armed sprinkler on wheels that he had repainted with the Helijet colours – a gift that was very well-received.
Both Michael and the team at Helijet are thankful that posAbilities has been able to help facilitate this opportunity. Carla Kovacs, Helijet’s Director of Client Relations, is “pleased that we can work with posAbilities to increase our knowledge around autism and neurodiversity in the workplace.” You can learn more about the work that posAbilities does HERE.
We are beyond grateful to partner with Helijet, and we could not have done all the incredible things that we did this past year without their support. We’re looking forward to all that we can accomplish together in the coming years, as we continue to inspire one another, and expand on what it means to hold community and inclusivity at the heart of all that we do. While Michael hasn’t yet made it out to our Prospect Lake site, we’re hoping he can come for a visit soon – and we know a way he could get here pretty quick.