Bringing Them Home November 2024
Issue 7 November 2024
Annual Home For The Holidays Campaign Underway!
On November 1 we kicked off our 4th Annual Home For The Holidays campaign! This is our biggest annual fundraiser meant to raise money so we can offer more Travel Awards to our service members this holiday season.
While our efforts all year long are aimed at bringing our young military members home for a visit, the holidays can mean so much more to a family reunited. This year our goal is to raise $30,000 so we can offer more Travel Awards not only for the holidays but all year long!
For most of us, the holidays are a happy time of year celebrating with our loved ones. For those who are serving our country away from home in a stressful environment, especially those who are separated from their families for the first time, it can be difficult.
Whether you’ve donated before, or this is your first time, please consider making a donation to our Home for the Holidays campaign this year—you can make an immediate impact on a military family. All donations received during the month of November will reunite a military family this holiday season.
Last year our generous donors helped us raise more than $25,000 providing 33 Ticket Home Awards!! We hope to do even better this year. With your support, we are confident we can do just that!
To make a donation by clicking any Donate Now button, or send us a check.
Issue 6 Table of Contents
Letter From Our President
As we continue our mission to support military members and their families, we’re excited to share with you the latest updates and opportunities to get involved with the Ben Jackson Foundation.
First and foremost, I want to thank all of you who have supported us in some way over the past year, whether it’s financially or otherwise. We have awarded over $500,000 in Ticket Home awards since our founding. This is truly an amazing milestone!
Also, I want to especially thank all of you who have set up Facebook fundraisers which have raised a total of $3,000.
For those of you who currently support us or are interested in helping us financially, we invite you to consider setting up a recurring donation to help us continue our life-changing work. Your monthly contribution can provide essential support to our service members and their families throughout the year.
Next, mark your calendars for our annual Home for the Holidays campaign, taking place throughout the month of November.
This special annual initiative aims to bring families together during the holiday season, and we’d be honored if you’d join us in this effort.
In addition, we’re thrilled to share the highlights from our summer golf outing, which raised an impressive $13,421 for our foundation. We’re grateful for your support and look forward to making this event even more successful in the future.
Finally, as the holiday season approaches, consider spreading the spirit of giving by purchasing our exclusive merchandise.
Each item purchased helps us continue our mission to support military families, and we have a variety of options available for everyone on your list.
Thank you for your continued support and dedication to the Ben Jackson Foundation. We’re honored to have you as part of our community and look forward to making a difference together.
Larry Jackson
President
EVENTS
Tanner Kaltenberg Memorial Golf Outing
We are excited to share the tremendous success of the 1st Annual Tanner Kaltenberg Memorial Golf Outing, held on May 31st at the Edelweiss Golf Club in New Glarus, WI.
Tanner Kaltenberg was a former Verona Area High School baseball and hockey athlete, who joined the Marine Corps following graduation. Sadly, Tanner died in an accident on July 23, 2023, along with two other Marines.
Tanner’s parents, Jim Kaltenberg and Kristy Micale, wanted to do something in Tanner’s honor, and felt that a golf outing benefiting the Ben Jackson Foundation was the perfect way to do that.
The event raised an incredible $13,421, which will have a profound impact on the lives of our military members and their families.
Several individuals have been directly touched by this event, including:
- A soldier planning a surprise reunion with their family after a long deployment
- A young woman saving up to buy her first home and needing help to visit her family for support
- A military member facing financial struggles, hoping to attend their father's 60th birthday and best friend's wedding
- A family eagerly awaiting a long-awaited reunion with their loved one returning from overseas
Thanks to this event, these young people will be able to reconnect with their families and experience some much-needed normalcy while serving away from home.
We would like to express our heartfelt appreciation to Jim and Kristy, along with every person who worked tirelessly to make the event possible. And of course, a special shout-out to all of the hole sponsors for their support! Your generosity and commitment to supporting our nation's military members and their families are truly inspiring, and we're so grateful to have you all as part of our community.
Please join us in celebrating this remarkable achievement and the difference it will make in the lives of our service members and their families.
The Motive Behind Our Mission: An Interview With A Marine
This past summer we were able to offer a Travel Award to a Marine stationed in Japan as a surprise to his dad on Father’s Day. Then, in August after all of the fun and excitement, he shared his story with us.
Stories like his keep us grounded and remind us why we do what we do. We hope his story will show you the importance of military nonprofits like ours that give these incredible young people the financial assistance they need to reunite with their family members.
THANK YOU
Just a Few Clicks with Friends Can Go a Long Way
Over the past year several of you used Facebook Donations as a way to help raise money for the Ben Jackson Foundation—and what an amazing difference you’ve made! If you haven’t visited our Facebook page in a while, you can set up your own little fundraiser with just a few clicks.
You might choose a fundraiser as your birthday “gift”, in honor of a special someone, or just because. When you select your nonprofit, you’ll choose Ben Jackson Foundation, then enter how much you want to raise, when your fundraiser will start, and even add your own message. Then encourage your friends to donate.
Recurring Donors
Huge thanks goes out to our regular repeat donors. These amazing people, corporations, and organizations have committed to making monthly or quarterly donations to the Ben Jackson Foundation. Your ongoing support and commitment means that we are able to offer more and more Travel Awards and reunite our military families. Anyone interested in joining the ranks of our recurring donors please visit our website Donation page. You can make a difference with as little as $10 or $20 per month.
Local Kids Support the Ben Jackson Foundation
We are happy to share a heartwarming story of young entrepreneurs who are making a difference in their community and supporting our mission.
A group of enterprising kids set up a lemonade stand and decided to use their initiative to benefit a worthy cause. They also brought along some of their books and offered them for sale, donating a portion of the proceeds to the Ben Jackson Foundation.
Thanks to their creativity and kindness, these young individuals raised an impressive $95 for our foundation! We are grateful for their generosity and enthusiasm in supporting our mission to help military members and their families.
Welcome New Board Member Maureen Murphy
We are thrilled to welcome Maureen Murphy to the Ben Jackson Foundation Board of Directors. Maureen brings a wealth of experience and passion to our organization, having served as a member of our Application Selection Committee and shown a deep commitment to our mission. As a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corps, Maureen possesses a unique understanding of the challenges faced by military personnel and their families. Her administrative experience will undoubtedly be an asset to our foundation.
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You have helped provide
691
Ticket Home Awards worth
$504,000
"It would mean the world to me to see my family in the upcoming holidays and to surprise my sister with the gift she would want on her birthday."
"I am deeply grateful for the incredible gesture of kindness provided to me by the Ben Jackson Foundation; the ticket home award that allowed me to visit my elderly father and my young daughter, who are both my best friends in life. This act of generosity arrived almost like a beacon of light during trying times, so words cannot adequately convey my thankfulness. The Ben Jackson Ticket Home Award has not only uplifted my spirits but also reaffirmed to me that military members and their sacrifices in service are appreciated and do not go unseen. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I take comfort in knowing the Ben Jackson Foundation has helped not only me but several others as well."
"I wanted to reach out to you and inform you that I have just picked up my check for $1,000 for my ticket home. I wanted to thank you personally for all of the support that this foundation gives to military members in their times of need. You and your organization have helped so many people that I know personally and I thank you so much for doing the same for me and my family as well. Thank you again."
"Thank you all so much for this opportunity. Airmen and other service members with big families have the capabilities at their disposal to visit their loved ones that are hundreds of miles away. You all are doing a wonderful service to young airmen. May God bless you!"