Poway Rotary Club raising funds for Pearl Harbor vets

The Rotary Club of Scripps-Poway is raising funds to send San Diego-area Pearl Harbor veterans, including 104-year-old Poway resident Ray Chavez, to the 75th anniversary commemoration in Hawaii in December.

Called “Pearl Flight,” this is a collaborative partnership between the club and Personally Fit of Rancho Bernardo.

Personally Fit is the gym where Chavez has been working out with a personal trainer for the last three years, which has left him healthy enough to make the long trip back to Hawaii, said Pauline Getz, club president.

Getz said initially the club was interested in asking Chavez to serve as the honorary grand marshal in this year’s Poway Days parade after reading about him in an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune in March.

When a friend contacted her, expressing interest in starting a non-profit organization to help send Chavez to the Pearl Harbor commemoration in December, Getz said the club’s scope moved beyond the parade.

Getz said she told her friend not to start a non-profit just for one person, because if they opened the offer of taking Pearl Harbor veterans to others outside of Chavez, the Rotary’s non-profit could handle the fundraising.

The club reached out to Personally Fit, which Getz said “loved the idea.” “They want to support Ray, and get the word out (about their personal training programs that can be designed around the needs of the elderly),” said Getz.

The club has identified two, possibly three other veterans who would like to travel back to Pearl Harbor in December for the ceremony, which will include survivors, family members and support groups gathering to commemorate the 75th anniversary. It is working with the San Diego Pearl Harbor Survivors Carnation Chapter 3 to identify possible survivors who would like to attend.

Sending the veterans, plus a caregiver, as they are all over 90 years old, will cost between $2,500 and $5,000 per person, said Getz. This includes first-class airfare, which will be more comfortable for the veterans for the long flight to and from Hawaii. Recipients will receive reimbursement for their expenses related to attending the commemoration. They will be responsible for making their own arrangements. Pearl Flight will coordinate a welcome from members of a local Rotary Club that will attend to their needs on arrival and make sure they have transportation to their hotels, according to a press release from the club.

The club and members of Personally Fit will have a booth at the Rancho Bernardo Spirit of the Fourth celebration, where Chavez will be a VIP guest in the parade. The booth will have information about Pearl Flight and will also be collecting donations.

Getz said the club is reaching out to other local Rotary clubs and is looking into some other, low-key fundraising opportunities.

“This is possibly the last time many of these veterans will be able to travel to Pearl Harbor,” said Getz.

Donations to Pearl Flight can be made to the Poway Rotary Foundation, a 501(c)(3) charitable, non-profit organization. Contributions can be sent to P.O. Box 184, Poway, CA 92074.