WAI Receives $10,000 Grant from ISTAT

Funds to expand distribution of Aviation for Girls magazine, promote aviation careers

Women in Aviation International received a $10,000 grant from the International Society of Transport Aircraft Training (ISTAT) Foundation, which funds educational programs that advance commercial aviation. This is the third year that WAI has received an ISTAT Foundation grant.

The grant will be used to expand the distribution of Aviation for Girls magazine and will identify the ISTAT Foundation as the sponsor of this year’s issue. With this grant, the number of copies printed will be increased and its distribution expanded in hard copy and digitally.

In addition, part of these funds will  be used to update and produce WAI’s brochure on aviation careers. This brochure is made available to WAI members and also widely available online and at conventions, air shows, and other events where WAI has a presence. Part of the brochure will be devoted to promoting the ISTAT Foundation’s extensive library of aviation career videos which may be viewed at http://www.istat.org/careersinaviation. These videos feature actual aviation professionals and go beyond the traditional career of pilot to cover such careers as aviation lawyer, aircraft assembly specialist, customer advocate, product development engineer, and more. 

Aviation for Girls is an invaluable resource for WAI’s international Girls in Aviation Day which will be held on Saturday, September 23, 2017. That day, more than 100 WAI chapters around the world will provide learning opportunities and conduct hands-on aviation activities to introduce thousands of girls, ages 8 to 17, to the aviation lifestyle as well as to the career possibilities in aviation and aerospace.

"With this ISTAT Foundation grant, we address two important issues facing aviation: attracting young people to the aviation community and giving them concrete information on the multitude of aviation careers open to them,” says WAI President Dr. Peggy Chabrian. “The magazine and careers brochure are take-home resources which we hope will inspire young people to join the ranks of the aviation workforce, and we thank the ISTAT Foundation for sharing our vision through its generosity.”

The ISTAT Foundation was founded in 1994 to provide funds for scholarships, educational programs, and grants to qualified individuals and institutions that promote the advancement of commercial aviation and humanitarianism. The ISTAT Foundation Grants Program, administered by the ISTAT Foundation Grants Committee of the ISTAT Foundation Board of Trustees, offers direct grant funding to non-profit [section 501(c)(3) or its equivalent outside the United States] organizations.

More information on Girls in Aviation Day, September 23, 2017, including information about local chapter events, can be found at www.wai.org.