Angel Flight(R) America's Southeast Region to Send Santa and His Helpers to Distribute Special Holiday Gifts to the Devastated People of D'Iberville, Mississippi.

D'IBERVILLE, Miss. -- Thousands of Gifts Provided by Businesses, Citizens in California, Indiana, North Carolina and Elsewhere Converge on Town of 8,000 near Biloxi to Help 3,000 Children Get Special Holiday

The town of D'Iberville, Mississippi, where thousands of people remain in tents and trailers due to the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina, will be the site of a special holiday gathering of more than 3,000 children tomorrow starting at 8AM. These children will receive gifts delivered by Santa Claus and his helpers who will be flying in on a special Angel Flight America mission flown by Angel Flight Southeast pilot Dan Calugar. The gifts have been collected and sent from thousands of miles away from businesses and citizens from Citrus Heights, California as part of a daylong celebration of "the joy of holiday giving."

The Angel Flight(R) Southeast flight that will deliver Santa and his helpers will originate from Asheville, N.C. Additional volunteers from California, Indiana, North Carolina, Alabama and locally from organizations such as the local air force base and ROTC will assist in giving out the gifts that were generously driven in from the West Coast by the Mayflower moving company.

"The people of D'Iberville have truly been blessed by thousands of people who've assisted our somewhat neglected town, to ensure that this population of 8,000 people gets the attention that they deserve," said Brenda Broussard, a D'Iberville town council woman. Approximately 90% of Ms. Broussard's voting district in D'Iberville was destroyed by Katrina.

Also assisting from the start of this special mission approximately three months ago is Liz Krohn of the Sunrise Marketplace, a special business district in Citrus Heights of more than 500 shops and companies that brought together most of the special holiday gift items. "We had a 2,000-foot Mayflower transport bring in 50 bikes and helmets, several thousand gift cards - everything from power tools to pet food - to help an area that we think has been somewhat neglected in the post-Katrina relief efforts," Ms. Krohn said.

"We are so very happy to assist the folks of D'Iberville in ensuring that the thousands of now-underprivileged children get the holiday that they deserve," said Sheri Hutchinson, Director of Operations of Angel Flight Southeast, one of six geographic regions in the Angel Flight America network. "Having Santa and his helpers fly in to assist with gift giving, we hope, will spur even more giving among people in the Southeast who might not be aware of this tragic story."

In addition, Sandy Woods, a nurse from Taylors, South Carolina who came down to the Biloxi area after the hurricane to set up a medical center utilizing American Heart Association volunteers will be present and assisted with connecting Santa Claus (Rudoph Fulgham, a professional Santa, also from Taylors, S.C.) to ensure that Santa and his helpers fly successfully tomorrow morning from the Carolinas to D'Iberville early in the morning to assist with the gift distribution.

About Angel Flight America (AFA) and Angel Flight Southeast (AFSE)

The six geographical regions that comprise the nonprofit 501 (c)(3) organization of Angel Flight America provide more than 90% of the free public benefit flights performed in the United States today. Pilots who volunteer for Angel Flight America utilize their own aircraft, fuel and time to provide free air transportation to medical facilities for citizens who are financially distressed or otherwise unable to travel on public transportation. AFA member regions coordinate missions to fly people for organ transplants, for those involved in clinical trials, chemotherapy or other repetitive treatment; victims of abuse seeking relocation; families receiving help from Ronald McDonald(R) Houses, Shriners Hospitals and many other charities; disabled or sick children to special summer camp programs; and for many other humanitarian reasons.

By the end of 2005, Angel Flight Southeast will have coordinated more than 3,500 missions for its five-state region of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and South Carolina. For more information, go to http://www.angelflightamerica.org or http://www.angelflightse.org.

Note to National and Regional Media:

The distribution of holiday gifts will be held starting tomorrow, Saturday, December 17, at the D'Iberville Civic Center located at 10383 Auto Mall, next door to the D'Iberville, Mississippi, City Hall. To schedule interviews, call either D'Iberville City Councilwoman Brenda Broussard at 228-669-3246, volunteer Liz Krohn at 916-300-9046, or Angel Flight pilot Daniel Calugar at 305-979-3401.