IND - Indianapolis, IN

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News

PFK/Airplane room update

Last updated 2 weeks ago

Dear Indy PFK,

Behind this door (see pics below) a runway is getting painted, an airplane is under construction, a fanciful flight deck is getting assembled and our long held goal of establishing our PFK/Airplane themed room at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital in Indianapolis is coming to fruition.

Our grand opening and dedication is scheduled for Friday, September 8th. Some words will be spoken, there will be a dedication, and there will be a ribbon cutting ceremony at the room itself. All are invited, including spouses and family members. We will meet in the lobby at PMCH (where we assemble before our annual visits) at 10 AM. Pilots are requested to be in uniform. Please let me know if you plan to attend.

Don't forget to check out our website: pilotsforkids.org > Members > IND for the latest updates and pics. Thanks to YOUR generosity we are over funded, ahead of schedule, and our display cases are fully stocked with some pretty cool stuff. I am confident that you will be pleased and I hope you will consider attending our grand opening and dedication in September.

Respectfully,

Dan Ferracciolo
Indy PFK Coordinator

317-408-0267

Plans for our PFK Airplane room at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital

Last updated 4 months ago

Please take a look at the plans below in the photo gallery.

Dear Indy PFK,

It is a pleasure to present this update to you for your review.

The rendition of the DC-6 on the north wall is not just a painting. It is a dimensional model that will be "flying" out of the wall. The leading edges of the wings, the cowlings, the radome, and the propellers will be made of PVC or similar material and protrude from the wall about six inches. The remainder of the airplane depiction will be painted. The white rectangle over the wing box area is a light fixture that must remain on the wall but will be painted to match the airplane. The size of the wings and hence the scale of rest of the DC-6 was designed to facilitate the blending of the light fixture into the wings, cowls, and forward fuselage.

After landing his/her DC-6 on RWY 22 (Floor Plan), our aviator-patient will have the option of taking off again by moving to the fanciful flight deck rendition on the south wall. Yoke, pedals, and a view out of the flight deck windshield awaits for imaginary flying fun. The propeller on the south wall is a real wooden propeller donated by one of our members. It will be in it's own plexiglass case.

The west wall, in addition to the couch and window, will include custom display cases, art work/pictures and a custom made plexiglass enclosed valence over the window. The valence is a dimensional case which will contain patches and small aircraft models diplayed in plan view. The items depicted in the wall cases in this rendition of the plan are representative of what may be displayed. The cases will be partially lined with aeronautical charts. Art work will include "Indy Pilots For Kids" lithographs from the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds. The representative from the Thunderbirds politely suggested that I display the Blue Angels litho in the lavatory. Just a little friendly rivalry.

The east wall depicts a UH-1 with an "Expand Your Horizons" graphic over the door. This is in honor of Ed Faath, founder and president of Pilots For Kids. Ed flew "Huey's" during the Vietnam conflict. He was inspired to help hospitalized children during the war and vowed to somehow do so upon his return home. He succeeded.

Based on the hospital's need for rooms, construction will begin in early to mid summer. When construction is complete and the room certified patient ready, the St. Vincent Foundation will host a grand opening ceremony at the hospital to which we are all invited. Please look for further updates from me via email and on our website.

Due to generous donations by many of our members, we have just about everything we need for our display cases. I'm still a little short, however, on wings, insignia, and patches (commercial or military) for the valence.

THANK YOU for supporting this initiative and making our PFK/Airplane room possible!

Respectfully,

Dan Ferracciolo

Coordinator, Indy Pilots For Kids
317-408-0267

Captain Arthur W. Hiatt Circle of Honor

Last updated 6 months ago

Dear Indy PFK,

With Janet Hiatt's blessing and St. Vincent Foundation approval, I am announcing the Captain Arthur W. Hiatt Circle of Honor Fundraising Campaign. As many of you know, FedEx Captain Art Hiatt was a long time Indy PFK member, devoted father and husband, and a close friend to many of our members. This campaign will recognize and honor his memory and the legacy of his involvement in Indy PFK with a Captain Arthur W. Hiatt Circle of Honor plaque proudly displayed in our themed room. Those individuals and organizations who donate $1000.00 or more will have their name represented on that plaque.

If you would like to participate in this fund raising campaign, or donate any amount toward our room, please visit our dedicated PFK/Airplane room donation website: give.stvincent.org/airplaneroom or contact me directly if you would like to donate via personal or bank check.

Thank you for your amazing generosity and for taking ownership in our campaign to fund, design, build, and maintain a permanent PFK/Airplane room at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital.

Gratefully,

Dan Ferracciolo
Indy PFK Coordinator

We did it!!

Last updated 6 months ago

We have done it! The last official report from the St. Vincent Foundation put our total at $52,341.27!

In addition to the above total, FedEx Express has pledged a $5000.00 donation at the beginning of the new fiscal year (01 June). Any funds over and above the required $50k will also be used directly in the design and construction of our room.

The next step is the design phase. I'm in the process now of scheduling our first meeting with the St.Vincent Foundation and BSA Design. Please look for periodic updates via email and on our website as the design phase progresses, and if you have any room design ideas, please let me know.

Gratefully,

Dan Ferracciolo
Indy PFK Coordinator
317-408-0267

Items needed for our PFK/Airplane room at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital

Last updated 6 months ago

Dear Indy PFK members,

Last Wednesday we had our first design consult for our future PFK/Airplane room. Susie and I met with representatives from the St. Vincent Foundation, the hospital, and BSA Design at the foundation offices in Indianapolis.

The meeting lasted about 90 minutes, during which we came up with a preliminary design that I believe will capture the imagination of the the kids who spend time in our room. Although most of the room's decor will be custom made by BSA Design, I need some art work or pictures to place on the walls and some items to fill our display cases. If you have access to and are willing to donate any of the following, please send me a brief description and preferably, a picture of the item:

Airplane models. Ideally, I would like to see a model from each of our companies...about the same size as the one in the attached picture. I have FedEx covered, I need everybody else..and yes, UPS included (smallish model ok).

Aircraft propeller(s). Like a big wooden one to hang on a wall or stand up in a corner behind glass.

Yoke, rudder pedals, throttle quadrant, stick.

Old instruments, radios, microphones, headsets, E6B, charts.

Company/Squadron patches, insignia, Airline/Military wings.

Helmets, Oxygen masks, aircrew equipment.

Since we are fully funded ahead of schedule, our timeline for construction has moved up. We are slated for construction from June 26th-July 28th with our room dedication in mid to late August.

I will FWD your pics to the designers who will help determine which of the items we can use on the available wall space and in the custom made glass covered cases for permanent display.

THANK YOU, for your incredible generosity, for your moral support of this initiative, for making this possible!

Dan Ferracciolo
Indy PFK Coordinator
Secretary, Pilots For Kids Organization

317-408-0267

Indy PFK 2016 Season Recap

Last updated 7 months ago

Three hospitals, two pre-school visits, a new initiative to establish a permanent PFK/Airplane themed room at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital, dozens of new Indy PFK members, tremendous participation at each event, Pilot Induced Buffoonery (PIB), drones, and one sensational season.

The 48 kids at St. Mary's downtown campus (02 DEC) and the 139 kids at St. Mary's Ft. Ben Campus (12 DEC) enjoyed the highest pilot to kid ratio we have ever provided for a pre-school visit. 19 pilots downtown and 15 pilots at Ft. Ben read stories and engaged in raucous PIB with the kids. Every pre-schooler received an aircraft toy, pilot hat, wings, sunglasses, coloring books, a purple teddy bear, and a large activity tin. Captain Baldy swooped in for a visit too. The kids enjoyed his antics (only a few cried at first) and that he was handing (feathering?) out purple bears and candy canes. Most importantly, however, a lot of kids who are living in difficult circumstances enjoyed positive personal interaction with some authority figures in blue suits and funny hats.

We had a five slot limit at our IU Riley North visit on 07 DEC. This visit historically has a light patient census (10-15 patients). Not so this year. We interfaced with 34 kids of all ages, from infants to young adults in oncology, on the floors, and in post-op and recovery. Thanks to some dedicated child life specialists (and my amazing wife), we were prepared with cart loads of age and gender appropriate gifts.

Peyton Manning Children's Hospital was next on 09 DEC. We had ten slots. So, 13 of us (I have to over book a little in case of no shows, right?) visited 32 kids in traditional room to room visits on both patient floors. We also saw our future PFK/Airplane room. 3019. Oncology floor. Right between the Peyton Manning room and the baseball room and across the hall from the activity center. Very cool.

Riley Children's Hospital downtown capped off the season on 16 DEC. We were slot limited to 20 this year. Our PFK members set up gift and craft stations in the Child Life Room at Riley where 80 kids and their families came to visit. Our members engaged with the kids while handing out gifts, told them (mostly true) flying stories and helped them build and paint a craft. Like last year, we again enjoyed a generous donation from the Central Indiana Wood Workers in the form of 80 beautiful hand made solid wood airplane models. Our pilots eagerly administered IOE on how to paint and properly fly the models.

Special thanks this year to Lori Walton of FedEx Services for facilitating the donation of 350 purple FedEx bears, Bob Chastain of Central Indiana Wood Workers for having his organization fabricate 80 solid wood airplane models, and long time Indy PFK member, Mike Meskis for coordinating our annual Riley downtown visit. A special thank you also to the lovely and gracious Mrs. Captain Dan for ensuring that each child receives an age and gender appropriate gift. If it weren't for her efforts, each kid, boy or girl, infant to college aged would get a drone. After all, drones fly, and anything that flies is cool. Right? Thank YOU for your generosity of time, donations, enthusiasm, and spirit. You make it possible for us to distract a child, if only for a moment, from his or her life circumstances or medical condition and brighten their day. It is my honor and privilege to be your Indy PFK Coordinator.

Respectfully,

Dan Ferracciolo
Indy PFK Coordinator

Pilots For Kids Airplane Room Fundraising Campaign

Last updated 12 months ago

Dear Indy PFK,

Our Indy PFK members visited Carlos on December 23rd, 2010 at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital (PMCH) at St. Vincent. We had also visited him (in the same room) during our Indy PFK Season in 2009 at PMCH. A year is a long time to spend in a hospital room. Carlos is one of many patients at PMCH enduring a medical condition requiring extended hospital stays for treatment. It is not uncommon for these stays to exceed 100 days, sometimes much longer. Any hospitalization can be frightening, especially for children. I can’t imagine my own children being away from home, family and friends for so long.

To make these hospital stays as comfortable as possible, PMCH has formulated a program that allows individuals or organizations to sponsor themed rooms. A themed room places the child in a fun, engaging and uplifting environment while he or she is undergoing treatment. The rooms are professionally designed to the specifications of the sponsor and then specially constructed with hospital-approved materials.

At Indy PFK, we have long had a goal of sponsoring a PFK/airplane themed room at PMCH. I believe now is the time to make that goal a reality. A room is available (it even has a view of the helipad). PFK Board of Directors approval has been secured. Our own PFK/airplane room donation website is live. Sponsorship, however, costs $50,000.

So here's my request: If you are willing to approach your company for a corporate donation, or if you know of a foundation that may be willing to contribute, please let me know. I have been working with three talented professionals at PMCH who specialize in facilitating these types of donations. They will help us by writing proposals, submitting grant requests, or by meeting with individuals or groups about the project. If you are willing to solicit your pilot group for donations, please feel free to forward this email, incorporate it in a newsletter, cut and paste part of it on your Facebook page, or get the word out via any other means. If you, or someone you know, would consider including this initiative in your charitable giving this year, here is our own PFK/airplane room donation website: https://give.stvincent.org/airplaneroom 100% of your tax deductible contributions will directly benefit our PFK/airplane room fundraising efforts.

I envision a room with airplane models, pictures, aircraft pieces and parts, hats, uniforms, airline materials, military pilot equipment, etc. In that room is a starry eyed kid dreaming about flying instead of thinking about why he or she is in the hospital. Pilots For Kids will have a permanent, year-round presence at Peyton Manning Children's Hospital. Our room will aid in comforting countless children during their stay at PMCH, and it might serve to inspire a few of them to seek a future in aviation. Inspiration leads to hope for the future, and that hope may lead to healing.

Thank you for your consideration. Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or ideas.

Respectfully,

Dan Ferracciolo
Indy PFK Coordinator
Secretary, Pilots For Kids Organization

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