No child should ever miss cancer treatment because their family can’t afford a plane ticket.
That’s the mission behind the Limitless Foundation, a nonprofit founded by Auburn Aviation alumni Push Saha ’23 and Tristan Lines ’23, which provides free air transportation to Atlanta for pediatric cancer patients.
“We wanted to do something to give back in the field that we can do the best work in,” Lines said. “Since we got to the airlines, we’ve been doing our best to get this thing off the ground and achieve our mission: to assist childhood cancer patients and their families by alleviating the financial burden of air travel.”
Lines and Saha met during an 8 a.m. aviation class at Auburn. They were both born to be pilots – Saha knew since he was four, after going on frequent airplane trips to India, and Lines spent at least one week each year at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.
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When they talked about starting a nonprofit, they had the means and a cause that hit close to home.
Saha was four years old when he was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor. His family lived in hospitals, waiting rooms and long car rides to give him the best chance to live.
After successful surgery, months of therapy and support from the community around him, Saha made a full recovery. Now a first officer for Endeavor Air, he never forgot about the children whose families couldn’t afford to reach specialized care, or the weeks that he couldn’t even walk, but still wanted to fly.
A three-year old girl with a brain tumor and her mother were the first family Limitless helped. Saha met them personally at the airport with a gift bag and a message.
“I had a little stuffed animal, a bunch of snacks, goodies, coloring books, Peppa Pig, all of that, and I got to meet her at the gate. She was adorable, couldn’t stop talking,” Saha said. “Then I gave her mom a big hug. She definitely needed one. I just let her know, ‘You’re not alone. You’ve got this.’ It was really a full circle moment for me. It definitely made me emotional. That’s what we’re here for.”
Through a collaboration with Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, the same hospital where Saha was treated, Limitless connects families across the country with the Development Therapeutics Program at the Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center.
Dr. Jason Fangusaro, director of the program, said many families who have children with aggressive cancer have few treatment options and seek out the Development Therapeutics Program because they have several clinical trials that provide new hope. Limitless helps them get there.
“The Limitless Foundation is life-changing for our patients and their families,” Fangusaro said. “Limitless takes away the financial burden and stress of travel for our patients from other parts of the nation and allows the family to focus on their child.”
A childhood cancer diagnosis is every parent’s worst nightmare. Between the cost of care and caring for a sick child, any support is a relief. Children’s team identifies families in need, then Limitless steps in to make travel arrangements at no cost to the family.
For parents like Rana and Pallavi Saha, who remember what it’s like to rely on the kindness of others, Children’s and Limitless make a world of difference.
“As parents, we share our story because we’ve lived both sides of this journey — the fear of not knowing what comes next and the overwhelming gratitude when someone helps you reach the care your child needs. Limitless is Pushkar’s way of giving that hope forward. It’s his promise that no child’s chance at life should depend on whether their family can afford to travel for treatment.”
Rana & Pallavi Saha
Auburn alumni fill the ranks of the Limitless Foundation from the board to the social media team. Saha and Lines, who serve as president and vice president, got their start in philanthropy through Zeta Tau Alpha’s Big Man on Campus, a pageant event which raises funds for breast cancer research.
Other Limitless members have volunteered at Camp Sunshine, a summer camp where children battling cancer enjoy activities such as archery, horseback riding, pottery, boating and more.
Lines said no matter what they studied, everyone from Auburn asks the same question: What can I do to help?
“Everyone from Auburn that we talk to about it is always super excited, and everyone in the organization from Auburn really takes a lead in driving our mission home and doing the best we can to help the kids,” Lines said. “Auburn does a wonderful job of hammering home the point of the Auburn man and woman. It’s never forced, but the expectation is there, and it really transforms people into virtuous individuals.”
September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. By the end of the month, the Limitless Foundation hopes to raise $10,000, which could provide up to 10 families with round-trip travel between home and hope.
Limitless has also launched a social media campaign, dedicated to friends lost to childhood cancer, where a paper airplane travels through chains of tagged video posts. Saha and Lines hope to raise awareness for the foundation and the need for more childhood cancer research funding.
Saha is living proof that hope makes a difference. He said when people support the Limitless Foundation, it sends the same message that he delivered to that three-year-old’s mother in the airport: You can do this.
“Whenever someone makes a donation, they’re also giving hope,” Saha said. “I never thought I would be where I am today, and I never thought I could be able to fly an airplane. People should know that when they give, it could be really, really impactful and drive that kid for the rest of their life.”
