Prince George, B.C. – It has been nearly a week since Mikaela Pond  arrived in Prince George, having cycled from Prince Rupert  in an effort to raise funds  for Hope Air.  She had set out on that  journey with two goals,  first to make it to Prince George,  and  raise money for Hope Air  along the way.

(at right, Mikaela Pond arrives in Prince George-image 250News archive)

She reached  the first goal last Friday  around 3 p.m.  and news now that she has achieved the second,   in fact, she has surpassed it.

She had hoped to raise $6,000 ,  money that will be used to provide free flights for northern B.C. families who need to  travel  away from home to get the medical care they need.  As of  yesterday  afternoon,   she had raised  $6,500.  That’s enough  to sponsor 27  flights.

Mikaela has worked as a nurse in Prince George, Fort Nelson and now lives in Taylor.  She has seen first hand how families struggle to  find the dollars  to  get to specialized treatment.  That’s where Hope Air  comes in,  or  should that be ‘lands’. Hope Air is a registered, national charity that provides free flights to people who cannot afford the cost of an airline ticket to get to medical expertise or specialized medical technologies that usually exist only in larger urban centres.   All dollars raised through Mikaela Pond’s effort will go towards helping  Northern B.C. families.