MANDAN, N.D. — North Dakota National Guard’s Brigadier General Alan S. Dohrmann, North Dakota deputy adjutant general, accepted a generous donation for a N.D. Guard’s Family support fund from students at Mandan Middle School on March 16. During a student fundraiser, participants at the school were asked by teacher Todd Sheldon, “If they could have $100 to change the classroom, school, community, country, or world, what would they do?”
Alicia Weind and Deliverence Boehm suggested using the $100 for seed money for a fundraiser to support North Dakota Guards Members serving overseas. Their idea was to use the money to pay for shipping care packages. The students operated the concession stand during a school dance and netted about $500.
Dohrmann accepted the donation during halftime at a school facility versus students fun basketball, and told the students saying, “Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness on behalf of our Soldiers and Airmen serving overseas. Your thoughtfulness in looking out for our Guard Families and their loved ones serving halfway around the globe is truly inspiring to me and to our community. I can tell you from experience that when you are in foreign country, letters and packages of support from home are great morale booster; helps you know that folks at home are behind your efforts.”
Additionally, part of the proceeds from the basketball game’s concessions will be donated to the North Dakota National Guard Foundation. This foundation supports North Dakota National Guard members and their Families through programs like the North Dakota Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (ND-TAPS) and the North Dakota National Guard Emergency Relief Fund (ERF).
ND-TAPS supports the national TAPS initiative. The funds are used to assist with transportation costs for Families of fallen service members as they travel to Washington, D.C., to participate in the annual national TAPS program on Memorial Day weekend.
The North Dakota National Guard ERF program provides financial support in sudden and unforeseen emergency situations for North Dakota National Guard members and their Families, who may be facing illness, accident recovery, fire, theft or natural disasters.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, the North Dakota National Guard Foundation has no paid employees and hires no professional fundraisers. It relies on volunteer assistance and donations from those concerned about military members and their families. For more information, contact Holly Gaugler at 701-333-2079 or holly.gaugler@us.army.mil.
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Since the 2001 terrorist attacks on America, the North Dakota National Guard has mobilized more than 3,800 Soldiers and more than 1,800 Airmen in support of the Global War on Terrorism. Currently, about 275 North Dakota Guardsmen are serving overseas while more than 4,000 remain in the state for emergency response and national defense. For every 10,000 citizens in North Dakota, 65 serve in the North Dakota National Guard, a rate that’s more than four times the national average.