ST. LOUIS, MO. – Douglas Clements has announced that he is stepping down in 2015 as President of “Wings of Hope,” the international air relief organization. Clements joined Wings of Hope in 1997, and together with the board of directors, built the St. Louis-based organization into a world resource to help the impoverished.
Wings of Hope was founded in St. Louis in 1962. By 1997, its board of directors had reorganized and brought several new directors to guide the organization. They included present chairman, Larry Lemke. Together, they established formal goals and processes oriented to increase the programs and projects, assisting marginalized citizens worldwide.
Under Clements, noted world humanitarians 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 help the world’s poor to deliver more focused human services.
Clements and the board designed front-line processes focused on raising the poor to a level of parity and to deliver services directly to those needing them:
• 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
Combined with the use of small aircraft for transportation, no region of the world is out of reach.
Wings of Hope serves over 1,000,000 people at 157 bases in 47 countries annually. The organization focuses on strategies to help raise the poor to self-sufficiency and do not accept government or taxpayer funds.
Wings of Hope is a Four-Star Charity on Charity Navigator and a Gold Charity on GuideStar – the highest ratings possible and has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Board of Directors initiated a search in August to replace Clements.
For more information about Wings of Hope, go to www.wings-of-hope.org or call (800) 448-9487 or email woh206@earthlink.net.
