Lightspeed Running for a Cause

Lightspeed recently had the opportunity to participate in Southern Timing Foundation’s Run the Runway 5K event in Florida. This special event was established to help support education through exploration via an organization known as PASSAGE, whose founder Lee Giat wants to make a difference in the world through aviation.

Lee Giat is passionate about aviation. But even more than that, he is really interested in extending opportunities to young people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to similar resources. Thus, he developed his not-for-profit project named PASSAGE (Providing Aid in Science for South America’s General Education).

Packed into a general aviation aircraft known as the Spirit of Science, Lee will fly school supplies, lab equipment, classroom essentials, and technology to Latin America’s most underprivileged schools. In addition to the delivery of resources, he will be coordinating with local schools to facilitate teachers, faculty, and community engagement as well. To top this off, airborne research and a documentary series called, “Wright of Passage” is in development to chronicle this undertaking.

Lightspeed was honored to assist Lee in his mission with the outfitting of a Zulu 3 headset to help round out his safety equipment. But the headsets and the mission are only part of the journey. With such an endeavor, it requires plenty of resources. So, Southern Timing Foundation, a nonprofit organization associated with PASSAGE set out to host this special event: the Run the Runway 5K – a race held at the Fernandina Beach Municipal Airport in Jacksonville, FL. Lee extended a personal invitation to Lightspeed to participate.

At the time of this interview, PASSAGE flight has been slotted to launch in 2022. Pending COVID restrictions, possible political constraints in some countries, and the completion of technology resources, we hope to see this mission achieved soon. The docuseries, “Wright of Passage” will be premiered at the NASA Kennedy Space Center following the mission to Latin America.

With a little sweat equity and some interviewing prowess, Lightspeed’s Brand Relations Manager Bethany Scovil was able to get the full story on PASSAGE. Watch the conversation she had with Lee after this very special 5K. You can find other resources to PASSAGE to learn more about this honorable mission in the links below and the video description as well.