Teaming Up to Help People and Communities in Need

Baltimore, MD: Bryant Smith has a passion for helping those in need. His efforts have long served the unsheltered homeless, refugees and poverty-stricken families. After more than 20 years managing social and ecologic restoration projects throughout the United States, Smith saw a disconnect between responding agencies. He determined that more meaningful support could be provided, so in 2014 he launched Flight1 Carriers.

“We're unique in our multi-function and collaborative approach to incident emergency response,” says Flight1 Carriers CEO Smith. “F1C’s ‘spoke and hub model’ deploys localized satellites in order to be ready on the spot for any type of emergency. For example, we monitor significant weather events or civil unrest activities in order to staff and stock in tactical locations for immediate response and relief. We are able to respond in hours, not days. And to ensure that we are prepared for the future and remain forward thinking, we have established a think tank called the Flight1 Carriers Consortium. This group of experts comes from the local community, businesses and academic institutions.”

Flight1 Carriers is involved in the entire chain of emergency response, from sourcing and storing supplies to coordinating onsite logistics to support first responder actions. This end-to-end approach includes the transportation of people, equipment and supplies via F1C’s own air and ground vehicles. A not-for-profit 501(c) organization funded by grants, businesses and individual contributions, Flight1 Carriers uses just 10% of its grants to cover administrative costs, with 100% of community donations going directly to disaster and crisis response. Since 2014, F1C has provided incident emergency response and ongoing relief to over 5,000 people in the Greater Baltimore area. In 2017, Flight1 Carriers hopes to expand the positive impact it can make — to communities beyond Baltimore.

Georganne Benesch of Tiger Team Marketing was enlisted to help make Flight1 Carriers vision a reality. She turned to After Midnight for pro bono assistance designing a brochure that she wrote.

To learn more about Flight1 Carriers, view the brochure...

After 25+ years in product marketing for high-profile Silicon Valley companies, Georganne Benesch now serves start-ups, small businesses and technology companies through her consulting firm Tiger Team Marketing. For the past three years, she has also been a consultant for the Taproot Foundation, which helps social change organizations solve critical societal problems by ensuring that pro bono service is a readily available, effective, trusted, and commonly used resource. As a Yoga Alliance certified Instructor, Georganne also brings welcome relief and fitness training into offices and homes, helping workers find balance amidst the non-stop hustle and bustle of the busy San Francisco Bay Area, via her newest venture Sport Performance Yoga.