LOE 2013 Reason To Come
This is a really long post but I hope each of you read it to the end.
As Co-Chairs for the LOE annual fly-in and raffle this year, which is being held on October 4-6, 2013, we want to encourage all of you who previously attended in past years and those who have yet to come and consider being a part of this great charity raffle and Fly-In . the LOE (Lots of Experimentals) Fly In is being held at the Ft. Collins / Loveland Airport (KFNL) on October 4-6, 2013.
For the past 10 years we have raised from the raffle event an average of at least $10,000.00 each year that is donated to local charities.
The following is a write up from a local newspaper about what one of the charities had to say about the difference the $6,000.00 donation they received at the fly-in in 2010 made to there operation :
Food 4 Kids
Feeding Weatherford's `chronically' hungry children
Published February 9, 2011 – Weatherford Daily News
Julie Harding, Lifestyles Editor
The number of chronically hungry children in our community is growing, according to Weatherford Food 4 Kids Coordinator Barbara Jones.
"It's heartbreaking to think there are kids in Weatherford, Oklahoma that are chronically hungry," Jones said. "Not just hungry - chronically hungry."
Jones said "chronically hungry" means "Friday through Monday they have no food or very little food" and the only time they are able to eat are during school hours when breakfast and lunch is served.
According to the Food 4 Kids Weatherford program, last year there were 43 children receiving assistance - this year there are 89 children receiving backpacks filled with food for the weekend.
Food 4 Kids is a program of the Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, designed especially for elementary age children. Chronically hungry children identified by school personnel receive a backpack filled with non-perishable, child-friendly food to sustain them over weekends and school holidays when school program meals are not available.
"These kids have to take care of their backpacks and return them clean and in good shape when they come back to school," Jones said. "One of our kids came back to school with a dirty backpack, covered in leaves. When the counselor talked to him about the condition of his backpack, he said his parents were taking his food, so he was hiding the backpack from them outside under a pile of leaves. We hear some really heartbreaking stories."
Jones said the program received a break this year at an annual fly-in at the Thomas P. Stafford Regional Airport. She said pilots from around the country get together once a year at the annual "flyin" and donate money to a good cause in the area. This year they donated $6,000 to the program, but with the increase in chronically hungry kids the money for next year is still in short supply.
"If it weren't for that money (received from the fly-in) we wouldn't be having the Food 4 Kids program this year," Jones said. "If the money runs out, there is no program."
Food 4 Kids supporter and teacher Bruce Belanger said the benefits of the program mean more than helping with hunger pangs.
"It's not just about the food," Belanger said. "There are ripple effects, because these kids are able to focus better on their schoolwork and their behavior improves when they aren't hungry all the time."
Community members can help by Volunteering at the Food Bank or at an area school. They can also make a financial donation to the program - $200 will provide enough food for one child for the entire school year. A gift of $5,000 will provide enough food for 25 chronically hungry children for an entire school year.
End of Story
For those of you who do not know, at such Fly In charity event we only accept cash , at the event, for the purchase of raffle tickets ($20.00 each), and raffle off prizes that are donated by various aviation companies. We hold the raffle on Saturday night in conjunction with a catered banquet. Every dollar paid to purchase a raffle ticket goes directly to the charity or charities at the end of the banquet, I.e. nothing received from the raffle ticket sales goes to overhead or expenses. What other charity fund raiser do you know that donates 100% of all monies raised directly to such charity?
The past three years such Fly In has been held in Weatherford, Oklahoma and we have donated in excess of $22,000.00 in cash to the Backpack Food 4 Kids program in Weatherford, Oklahoma . Due to extreme weather in Central Oklahoma the past two years we have decided to move the Charity Fly-In to "dryer" pastures.
LOE 2013 Specifics:
· October 4-6, 2013
· Location: Fort Collins - Loveland, Colorado (KFNL )
Fuel Discount .50 Per Gallon for registered attendees
Registration Form may be downloaded at:
http://www.loeflyin.org/Home_Page.html
This Year we are going to split the raffle money between HONOR FLIGHT (read about it:
http://www.reporterherald.com/news/...d-men-among-122-veterans-aboard-2012-honorand
and the BACKPACK FOOD 4 KIDS programs (read about it:
http://www.coloradoan.com/article/2...k-program-children-help-provide-food-families
A representative of the HONOR FLIGHT and the BACKPACK FOOD 4 KIDS programs will be present at the Saturday night Banquet to accept the money raised.
Both the Honor Flight and Backpack Food 4 Kids programs are registered charities and have IRC 401(c)(3) status, so if you cannot attend but still want to make a donation you can mail a check directly to Russ Kamptz at 1900 Ponderosa Place, Loveland, CO 80438, made payable to either "Honor Flight" or Backpack Food 4 Kids and will will also hand out your checks to the representatives at the banquet and ask them to mail you a receipt. For those of you who have helped in prior years we want to thank you again for your support and hope each of you will come have a wonderful weekend with lots of great folks.
Russ Daves
and
Russ Kamtz
Co-Chairs - LOE 2013