By May 2021, TJ had delivered a total of 94,217 pieces of PPE!
Back in March 2020, the country mostly shut down to slow the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19. Classes switched to being online, friends stayed indoors, and sports games were canceled. But for TJ Kim, there was still one activity he could do: Fly planes!
For his 15th birthday, TJ’s dad gifted him flying lessons. In early 2020—one year later—TJ reached a stage in his training that required cross-country flights. These were trips of 50 miles or more.
At the time, TJ was a sophomore at the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland, which encourages students to do good in their communities. “I was still trying to get out and serve the community,” he says. So TJ and his dad came up with an idea to connect flying with community support. They called the project Operation SOS: Supplies Over the Skies. TJ used his training flights to carry personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals in Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and West Virgina. PPE, like masks and gloves, help health-care workers safely treat patients.
Back in March 2020, the country mostly shut down. The aim was to slow the spread of the virus that causes Covid-19. Classes moved online, friends stayed indoors, and sports games were canceled. But TJ Kim realized there was still one thing he could do: Fly planes!
TJ’s dad had gifted TJ flying lessons for his 15th birthday. By early 2020, TJ had been training for a year. The next step was to take cross-country flights. These are trips of 50 miles or more.
At the time, TJ was a sophomore at the Landon School in Bethesda, Maryland. The school encourages students to do good in their communities. “I was still trying to get out and serve the community,” says TJ. So he and his dad came up with an idea. TJ would use his training flights to carry personal protective equipment (PPE) to hospitals in his home state of Virginia. They called the project Operation SOS: Supplies Over the Skies.