Led by the pilot son of a famous reverend, Samaritan’s Purse has become one jet-setting disaster relief corps.
by Eric Capper
While the Reverend Billy Graham has been busy giving his last sermon in New York and opening his library, his son, Franklin, has been building his own legacy. In some ways, his is an even higher calling. In recent years, the younger Graham’s Samaritan’s Purse has become one of the world’s most active — and airborne — private disaster-relief corps: chartering a 747 to airlift hundreds of tons of emergency housing and medical supplies after the December 2004 tsunami and the October 2005 earthquake in Pakistan; picking up the pieces after Hurricane Katrina and the recent California fires; and making its fleet of 11 King Airs, DC-3s and other craft available whenever disaster strikes.
“Private aviation has been
a very important part of our organization. Some places you just couldn’t get to quickly otherwise,” says Graham, a pilot who often joins the missions.
When Graham took over Samaritan’s Purse, which now operates in 100 countries, the organization had an annual budget of $300,000; this year,
it tops $300 million — which, even at today’s prices, buys a
lot of jet fuel. “You start with something small, and if it’s
successful, you branch out,” Graham says. “Then it just grows.” And goes.
samaritanspurse.org