Day In The Sky

February 15, 2008

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

THE FOURTH ANNUAL “DAY IN THE SKY”

Presented by

SHARED ADVENTURES

with “EAA Young Eagle flights” provided by
EAA CHAPTER 119

WATSONVILLE AIRPORT SAT., APRIL 19, 2008
9:00am-4:00pm

150 Young People with Disabilities and Special Needs
to Receive Free Airplane Rides
as part of the Watsonville EAA Chapter 119 Young Eagles program

750+ Visitors to Fourth Annual "Accessibility Expo"

Shared Adventures of Santa Cruz, CA, and Experimental Aircraft Association of Watsonville, CA are pleased to announce the fourth annual "Day In The Sky" at the Watsonville Airport, Watsonville, California, Saturday April 19, 2008, 9:00am-4:00pm.

Approximately 35 private pilots will provide free, 30 minute airplane rides for 150 young people with a wide variet of disabilities and special needs (plus 2 additional guest passengers each = 450 total flying passengers). The airplane rides will pass over points of local interest including the spectacular Santa Cruz County coastline, the historic Beach Boardwalk, and the magnificent springtime Watsonville countryside.

Each participant attends a brief E.A.A. pre-flight school session to learn basic aviation principles before flying. During the flight, each challenged child is encouraged to take the aircraft controls for short periods during the flight to experience the sense of empowerment that comes from controlling an aircraft.

Flights depart from the main terminal of the Watsonville Airport at 100 Aviation Way, Watsonville, CA. First flight is scheduled for 9:30am. Last flight is approximately 4:00 pm.

All young people will be pre-registered through several local partner organizations. Registering partner organizations include California Children's Services, Children's Miracle Network, Easter Seals Central California, Jacob's Heart Children's Cancer Association, JW House, Young Artists Studio, KidQuest, Make A Wish, Santa Cruz County Office of Education Special Education Dept., and Special Parents Information Network. Each organization is given a limited number of invitations and assigns them to appropriate participants.

A concurrent free Accessibility Expo is scheduled, which will feature many vendors of assistive technologies, information from nonprofit organizations, and fun and educational interactive displays. The festival will also include music provided by a local DJ, clowns and face painters, accessible sports equipment demos, visits with live animals, free food and refreshments, and much more.

All event activities are free to participating children, families, friends, volunteers, and pilots. Day In The Sky is fully funded by corporate and private sponsors, vendor contributions, and merchandise sales. Individual and corporate monetary and in-kind donations and sponsorships are needed and are most welcome.

For information, to register as a volunteer or a pilot, or to make a donation, please see the Shared Adventures web site at www.dayinthesky.org or call 831/459-7210.
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Contacts:

Contact: Foster Andersen, Founder and CEO, Shared Adventures
foster@dayinthesky.org, 831/459-7210

Contact: Bill DeRouchey, President E.A.A. 119
billderou@yahoo.com, 831/345-3440

Contact: Dean McCully, Day In The Sky Program Director, Shared Adventures
dean@dayinthesky.org, 209/614-4650

Press: Daryl Wise,
dsw@surfnetusa.com, 831/763-9313

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Host's Information
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Shared Adventures
www.sharedadventures.org
Established in 1994, Shared Adventures is a Santa Cruz based 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to improving the quality of life of people living with disabilities through recreational opportunities. It is the only program in Santa Cruz County that offers a year-round calendar of activities and events for all ages and sectors of the physically and developmentally challenged populations. Shared Adventures is renowned for its annual Day On The Beach, an enormously popular summer event drawing 300+ volunteers and 200+ participants with disabilities to participate in events such as kayaking, SCUBA diving, outrigger canoeing, and beach wheelchair rides. Shared Adventures will host its 16th annual Day On The Beach on Saturday, July 19, 2008.

Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 119 (EAA 119) of Watsonville
http://www.eaa119.org
Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 119 of Watsonville flies kids as part of their Young Eagles progarm. Kids from the general public can fly on the first Saturday of the month May thru November. On April 19 their Young Eagle flights are reserved for kids with disabilities and special needs. This will be the fourth year EAA Chapter 199 has flown kids at Day in the Sky. The Young Eagles program is a national EAA program that has flown over 1.2 million kids and Chapter 119 has flown 3,800 at Watsonville since 1992