James Jackson/MDN On Wednesday, representatives on behalf of Markeplace Foods and its customers, Morelli’s Distributing, Shiner Beer, and the Gooch family donate just over $16,000 to USA Patriots to send amputee children and those with limb loss to USA Patriots Kids Camp.

Epitomizing their organizational motto of “Serving Beyond The Uniform,” amputee veterans that are a proud part of USA Patriots Athletics wrapped up another year of fundraising as part of a partnership with Marketplace Foods, Morelli’s Distributing, and Shiner to allow children with amputations or limb loss from around the country to experience not only the fun of softball, but the camaraderie and life lessons often affiliated with playing sports.

Established in 2014, the USA Patriots Kids Camp originated when amputee veterans competing as part of the USA Patriots traveling softball team brought to fruition a dream of coaching and mentoring children facing the unique challenges often associated with limb loss or an amputation. Each year, USA Patriot Athletics and the USA Patriots softball team bring in 20 children between the ages of eight- to twelve-years-old for a week-long, all expenses paid trip where they not only learn to love athletics, but also learn adaptive techniques and life lessons from veterans who know first-hand the daily obstacles these young athletes face.

According to Jack Jones, who serves both as the chairman of the board for USA Patriots Athletics and as a member of the coaching staff for the USA Patriots team, the USA Patriots Kids Camp is so much more than just your typical sports-related event.

“We pay for the child and one parent to come to camp,” he said. “We pay all of their expenses, hotel, airfare, meals, everything. In the morning, it’s a softball camp, and in the afternoon, we do things like go to the aquarium. One day, we even went on a dolphin watch.”

Jones also emphasized how the camp helps participants realize that there are many other people, children and otherwise, out in the world that look like them and that often face the same hurdles. Even more, thanks to the guidance of the amputee veterans volunteering their time and love to the event, many of the children head home from camp able to not only play softball, but more importantly perform tasks many able-bodied people take for granted, such as tying one’s shoes without assistance.

Looking to help facilitate the opportunity for more children to attend the USA Patriots Kids Camp is a softball friend of Jack Jones’, Jerry Gooch. Affiliated with Morelli’s Distributing, who services all four Marketplace Foods grocery stores in Minot with their beer products, Gooch became a part of the fundraising efforts after speaking with Jones and then communicating the details of the camp to Michael Maxwell, a beer representative connected with Shiner Bock, a brewery out of Shiner, Texas with global distribution.

Gooch explained, “When Michael Maxwell came to town about five years ago, he told me about this Toast to the Troops program. So what it is, Marketplace sells these badges between Memorial Day and the Fourth of July and people pay at least a dollar to purchase one and have it put on display.”

All money spent on the badges is then collected and ultimately donated to assist in covering the expenses to send participants chosen by USA Patriots Athletics to the camp.

Jami Derheim, the liquor director for Marketplace Foods, praised and thanked all of the customers that came in throughout the fundraiser and supported the USA Patriots Kids Camp.

“We explained to the customers that the money raised would send an amputee kid to camp so that they can learn how to play softball, and more importantly teach them techniques to more effectively navigate daily life,” she said.

At the conclusion of the fundraiser, Marketplace Foods and its customers, along with Shiner, Morelli’s Distributing, and the Gooch family, raised a combined total of $16,034.95, enough to send three children and one of their parents each to the camp. In the history of the fundraiser, this amount signifies the most ever collected.

For anyone interested in supporting the USA Patriots Kids Camp, donations are accepted at Marketplace Foods grocery stores or can be made online via the usaathleticspatriots.org website.