Pilot Commentary: P4P Says Thank You
By F/O Mark Segaloff (United), President, Pilots for Pilots
On behalf of the almost 170 ALPA members who’ve received grants from Pilots for Pilots (P4P), ALPA’s emergency relief fund, let me say a very loud and very grateful “Thank you.”
P4P was established in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and has aided hundreds of ALPA families in the decade-plus since, providing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the form of grants to address the devastating effects of these disasters. But not since Katrina have we seen as much need for help within our ranks.
P4P can only provide this help if ALPA pilots donate to the fund. Pilots for Pilots is just what the name suggests—pilots stepping up to help pilots in need. The fund operates almost exclusively on member donations and is open only to ALPA members and their dependents.
On the day before Hurricane Harvey was forecast to make landfall in late August, the P4P balance was just a little more than $125,000. That’s a lot of money—but it wasn’t enough. Once we saw just how devastating Harvey was going to be, combined with the sheer number of ALPA members living in the area where it was predicted to hit, we knew we needed more. So we asked ALPA pilots for help.
And did you ever help.
Over the next two months—and as Irma and Maria added to the devastation and the number of individuals affected—ALPA members and other contributors responded to our requests and donated more than $150,000 to the fund. In addition, at the recommendation of Capt. Bill Couette, ALPA’s vice president–administration/secretary who oversees P4P, ALPA’s Executive Council voted to shift $75,000 to the fund. Altogether, this ensured that every single qualified applicant received a grant to help rebuild in the aftermath of the destruction.
I and the other members of the P4P board—Capt. Barry Nomann (Spirit), F/O Christine Gromek (United), Capt. Ken Reinert (Air Wisconsin), and Capt. Nathan Hillard (Delta)—reviewed every single application from our pilots. Many of them left us feeling heartbroken as they described their losses, their uncertainty, their hopelessness. Some spoke of swallowing their pride to ask for help; others promised that as soon as they were able, they would donate back to P4P every penny they received. And all of them hit home.
As a Houston, Tex., resident, I was also affected by this year’s hurricane season. But I count myself lucky. I wasn’t hit as hard as many of my colleagues, some of whom lost just about everything. In the aftermath, I visited many of my ALPA friends, helping our community clean up, and saw what many were—and still are—going through. With the situation in Puerto Rico, we’re certain that P4P will receive more requests for help. (You can read about other relief efforts that my ALPA colleagues have been involved with on page 25.)
And while this hurricane season may be coming to a close, we must prepare for the future—for other widespread disasters, such as the wildfires out west—and for more ALPA members who need help. We must replenish the fund so that every eligible person who needs help gets help.
On the P4P website and in many of our communications, we repeat one line regularly: “We’re all just a disaster away from needing P4P.” I learned that this year. While it was me this time, it could be you next year. Or the person sitting next to you on your next flight. So I encourage you to visit the P4P website at www.alpa.org/relieffund and make a donation. You can contribute one time or make a recurring donation—monthly, quarterly, or annually. And everything you give will wind up in the hands of a fellow ALPA member in need.
As this issue goes to press, the number of applicants has slowed to a trickle, and it’s allowed those of us on the board to take a deep breath and look back at what we’ve accomplished as a union. Together, we helped members in need. Together, we reached down and offered our hand. Together, we helped our colleagues rebuild. And together, we stand tall today—and stronger for it.
