MITCHELL — Last month, students at St. John Paul II and Gertie Belle Rogers wanted to do something for area veterans in recognition of Veterans Day.
Coincidentally, the two schools chose a similar way to raise money for the same non-profit organization. Thanks to this passion, the Midwest Honor Flight organization recently received a donation from both schools that will go toward sending South Dakota veterans to Washington, DC
“Donations are what make our mission possible,” Aaron Van Beek, president and CEO of Midwest Honor Flight, told the Mitchell Republic. “We have no government funding or assistance. We raise funds through fundraising and donations and grants through local and private foundations and businesses. That's what gets our flights off the ground.”
Van Beek, who works in Sioux Center, Iowa, was in Mitchell on Monday afternoon to visit with students at both schools, thank and formally accept the donations from the two schools.
Student counselors at St. John Paul II and Gertie Belle Rogers happened to suggest supporting the Midwest Honor Flight as part of each school's annual efforts to support local veterans. The projects were organized independently of each other, yet both chose variations of the “coin war” fundraising technique to raise money for the effort.
Adam Thury / Mitchell Republic
Jen Herrmann, student council co-advisor at St. John Paul II, said their plan was part of a larger year-long fundraising effort that focuses on different beneficiaries each month, such as Abbott House or the local food pantry. As November rolled around and Veterans Day approached, the group brainstormed ways to give back to area veterans.
“One of the ideas we came up with was to make some sort of donation to the Midwest Honor Flight. Once we explained to the kids what they were doing and how it worked, they were all in,” Herrmann said.
The school, which has about 119 students, held their fundraiser for a week from November 6th to November 11th. While it was a relatively short fundraising period, students at the school raised $1,186 for the Midwest Honor Flight.
Herrmann said it's a modest but important gesture, both for the good it will do to help veterans participate in the Midwest Honor Flight, but also as a lesson in history and the sacrifices made by men and women in uniform. That understanding is part of all the monthly fundraisers the school participates in, Herrmann said.
“We feel it's extremely important for them to express charity and gratitude, especially in this case,” Herrmann said.
At Gertie Belle Rogers Elementary, a very similar idea was created. Students there were also looking for a beneficiary in an annual November fundraising project for veterans, and student advisors happened to also suggest Midwest Honor Flight.
For them, it was an opportunity to spread their donations to veterans organizations beyond the local community.
“The last couple of years we've given to the local VFW, which is great, but we could probably help other people, and I heard about Honor Flight. I think it's an amazing program,” said Julie Kapfer, who serves as a school counselor and student council advisor.
Students at Gertie Belle Rogers also chose a coin war to focus their fundraising efforts on. All funds were donated to the Midwest Honor Flight, and after just three days of fundraising, the school, which has about 382 students, was able to present a check for $2,003.70.
There was no specific goal, but the results exceeded their expectations.
“This is a lot more than we thought,” Kapfer said.
Van Beek, who happens to be a former elementary school teacher himself, said the two donations from two separate Mitchell schools, neither of which knew the other had a similar project, came as a surprise to him.
But it was welcome.
“We are always happy with a surprise. I knew about the Gertie Belle fundraiser and they sent me an email asking where the check could go. The following week I received the check from St. John Paul II in the mail. It's nice to have the younger generations involved in this way,” Van Beek said.
With many veterans of foreign wars aging, some of the younger generation may not be as connected to American service members as previous generations. This makes the efforts of children like those of St. John Paul II and Gertie Belle Rogers even more special, but also educational.
It's also a great opportunity to spread the word about the Midwest Honor Flight, Van Beek said.
“(It's good) for them to be able to understand by the end of the day where the money is going and how important it was for them to do that,” Van Beek said.
The total of $3,189.70 raised between the two schools will go toward the organization's mission, which is to bring America's Veterans to Washington, DC to visit memorials honoring their service and sacrifice. fellow Veterans. Veterans from various conflicts have participated in the flights, though Van Beek said the organization tends to focus on serving veterans from World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War.
Adam Thury / Mitchell Republic
Van Beek said there are about 700 veterans on a waiting list who would like to take a flight, and the dollars donated by the two schools will help four veterans take an upcoming flight. It costs about $853 to send a veteran to Washington, D.C., and the organization has helped 1,487 veterans through 17 flights since the group was organized in March 2017.
There are three honor flights we hope for next spring and two in the fall. The official schedule for those flights will be announced in January, Van Beek said.
Both St. John Paul II and Gertie Belle Rogers expect to consider the Midwest Honor Flight to receive their donations in the future. It's a great cause that kids can get excited about and maybe learn a little about America's veterans along the way.
“We just want our kids to know that people need help and (to see) what we can do to help them,” Herman said.
More information about the Midwest Honor Flight can be found at
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