President of Wings of Hope to retire

ST. LOUIS — Douglas Clements, president of Wings of Hope since 1997, has announced that he is stepping down as president in 2015.

Wings of Hope was founded in St. Louis in 1962. By 1997, the board of directors had reorganized and brought several new directors to guide the organization. They established formal goals and processes oriented to increase the programs and projects assisting marginalized citizens worldwide.

Under Clements, noted world humanitarians such as General Colin Powell, actor Harrison Ford and Dr. Sherrill Kazan, president of the World Council of Peoples for the United Nations, joined with Wings of Hope to lend their influence to helping the world’s poor. Efforts were expanded on several continents with programs and partnerships to help the impoverished, and their governments, to deliver more focused human services.

Some of those services include:

• Sustainable Food and Water
• Basic Education and Healthcare
• Community Development, Job Skills and Women managed businesses
• The U.S. based Medical Relief and Air Transport (MAT) Program

These objectives span every aspect of human need and form the core of services delivered by Wings of Hope, according to officials. Combined with the use of small aircraft for transportation, no region of the world is out of reach, they note.

Wings of Hope serves more than 1 million people at 157 bases in 47 countries annually. It focuses on strategies to help raise the poor to self-sufficiency and does not accept government or taxpayer funds.

The board of directors has initiated a search for someone to replace Clements.

For more information: Wings-of-Hope.org