IWC, the 135-year-old Swiss luxury watch manufacturer, has announced its first-ever corporate sponsorship in North America. The company is sponsoring Angel Flight North East, the largest regional chapter of the national organization, which provides free air transportation to patients who need critical medical treatment, as well as to their families. Volunteer pilots donate their time and aircraft. IWC’s contribution is the largest single corporate donation on record for the organization.

IWC’s sponsorship pays homage to its founder, American watchmaker Florentine Ariosto Jones, who came from the northeastern part of the United States. It’s “a natural connection because of IWC’s American heritage,” says Eveline Jones, president of IWC USA, “and because our long history in aviation dates back to the 1930s with our original Pilot series of watches.”