Our volunteers are the lifeblood of Wings of Hope. Whether they are in the hangar working on planes or in the front office managing administrative and financial tasks, we depend on them to do mission-critical work that keeps our wings in the air and our operations running smoothly.
Kathie Haferkamp
Accounting
Kathie Haferkamp joined us as a volunteer in the accounting department about four years ago. A certified public accountant (CPA), she first learned about Wings of Hope through her church.
“Several of our members have been very active at Wings of Hope through the years,” she said.
Kathie remembered bringing her Sunday school class to Wings of Hope to volunteer pulling weeds.
“After I retired, I decided that I would volunteer.”
She interviewed for a position as a volunteer receptionist — but when the Volunteer Fulfillment team discovered she was an accountant, they were quick to find her a role where she could put her expertise to work.
Kathie said supporting Wings of Hope’s work is “the single biggest reason” she keeps coming back every Wednesday to volunteer.
“I believe in the mission of the organization,” she said, “and everyone here is very nice to work with.”
Peggy Stelloh
Administration and Development
Peggy Stelloh supports two teams at Wings of Hope: Administration and Development.
“I generally work in the office once a week but try to be available to help for crunch times,” she said.
Her tasks range from using her IT background to support our donor database to helping out with fundraisers, special events and ad hoc projects.
Peggy started volunteering at Wings of Hope in August 2015, just 16 months after retiring from Boeing.
“I picked Wings of Hope because of the aviation aspect of the charity,” she recalled.
When she learned about how we were using aviation to help people around the globe, “I was committed,” said Peggy.
Now in her 10th year of volunteering at Wings of Hope, Peggy said she keeps coming back because of “the mission and the great volunteers and staff I get to work with.”
When she began volunteering for Wings of Hope, she had no idea how personal that mission would become.
“Because of my knowledge and association with Wings, I was able to recommend a family member contact Wings for transportation to St. Louis for a surgery he could not get in his area. It’s been a great experience for me.”
Larry Masters
Facility Maintenance
Larry Masters has been a weekly fixture in the Wings of Hope hangar for more than 30 years. Now 90, Larry started volunteering with us in 1992 after retiring from Monsanto.
A jack-of-all trades in the hangar, Larry has used his mechanical engineering background to work on a number of projects including upgrading avionics on our airplanes.
During the flood of 1993, he was working in Wings of Hope’s “old” hangar (down the road at Spirit of St. Louis Airport) when he was pulled into service to help evacuate an airplane from the hangar before it was damaged by the flood.
“I was also helping after the flood hit and the water receded,” said Larry. “We were trying to salvage the spare parts located on the second floor.”
Larry has worked on a lot of airplanes through the years, but he and the hangar crew work on just about anything.
“We get oddball stuff that nobody can fix or they can’t find a replacement for — and we build it.”
One unique project that Larry and a few others worked on was building a 1935 model airplane from scrap to represent Wings of Hope at local parades.
“We did it for the kids who come out to see us in parades,” Larry said.
Larry volunteers in the hangar once a week. He would consider volunteering more but he is very involved with the community where he resides at Friendship Village. He participates in several activities including a Brain Fitness class: “We do exercise for two hours with our brains — trying to keep sharp.”
But his biggest commitment is participating on the bocce ball team which won its latest tournament by one point.
“It’s a lot of fun,” said Larry.
As much as he loves the social aspects of living at Friendship Village, Larry also enjoys the camaraderie of volunteering at Wings of Hope.
“There are a lot of pilots, a lot of mechanics, a lot of people with various skills,” he said. “We do things for other people around the world, and I like to be involved in that.”