(JTA) — New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft lent the team’s official plane to fly the families of the 17 victims of the Parkland, Florida, school shooting and some of the students injured in the attack to Washington, D.C., for the March for Our Lives.
Kraft did not fly with the march participants, who left for Washington on Thursday for the Saturday march, the Boston Globe reported. The plane was set to return them to Florida after the march, as well.
Patriots spokesman Stacey James told the Globe that Kraft decided to lend the plane to the victims’ families and the injured students after being asked by former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly.
Giffords was shot in the head during a public event in her home state in 2011. She survived and later resigned from Congress. She and Kelly founded Giffords, a gun violence prevention organization.
Some of the students posted photos of themselves boarding the plane, dubbed “AirKraft” on Thursday, along with thanks to Kraft and the Patriots.
