Veteran’s Corner
Mason Krebsbach
Mason.Krebsbach@heroescompass.com
In a display of community and collaboration, Heroes Compass, a 100% volunteer-based organization dedicated to supporting the nation’s heroes, partnered with Fargo Jet Center—a veteran-owned, full-service aviation company based at Hector International Airport—on November 10th to assemble 500 care packages for veterans across North Dakota.
For employees of Fargo Jet Center (FJC), the event was deeply personal. Benjamin Thornton, a veteran and Inspector on the FJC team, was especially excited to have an opportunity to give back on Veterans Day. Approximately 60 volunteers from across the company’s Fargo campus—from aircraft mechanics to human resources and accounting staff—worked side by side to prepare the packages in what Thornton described as an “easy assembly line.”
Tim Kuhn, founder of Heroes Compass, emphasized that initiatives like this are critical to the organization’s mission. “Partnerships are a testament to the community believing in our mission of ‘serving those who serve,’ as much as we, as an organization, believe it,” Kuhn said. “Many people want to get involved and help out, but they don’t exactly know how. This gives them an onramp to do just that.”
The event was specifically tailored to support veterans at the North Dakota Veterans Home in Lisbon, the New Life Center in Fargo, and the North Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs’ Community Resource & Referral Center, with each package curated to meet the unique requests of the recipient organizations. While some kits included essentials such as hygiene items, blankets, handwarmers, and winter gear—especially valuable to local homeless veterans—others contained personalized wish-list items including puzzles, crayons, TracFones, and bird feeders. In explaining the importance of certain packages, Kuhn noted, “If they are busy focusing on something else, they don’t need to be thinking about their problems.”
When asked about the desired impact of the finished care packages, Thornton said, “I hope the veterans who received the care packages realize there are people out in the community who appreciate them and are not forgotten.”
For more information on Fargo Jet Center, visit www.FargoJet.com
Information regarding Heroes Compass can be found at www.heroescompass.com