Submitted Photo The Minot Area Community Foundation partnered with The Minot Daily News to present a $3,000 check Friday to the Minot State University Development Foundation to support transportation funding for students utilizing the ASTEP program. From left are, back row, Kate Marshall, MSU Foundation; Bob Patchen, The Minot Daily News; Jason Zimmerman, MACF; Perry Olson, MACF; front row, Maison McDowall, student, Tracey Olson, ASTEP director; Leslie Coughlin, MACF; Staci Kenney, MACF; Gavyn Herfendal, student; Megan Mentz, ASTEP employment advisor; Malinda Kragh, ASTEP employment coordinator. Funding from MACF was made possible through the Mabel Kizima Endowment Fund and the Orlan & Rosella Tollefson Endowment Fund.

In life, we all have different kinds of things that are important to us. For some of us, it is money, notoriety, fame, a fancy car, or a big house, and to others, it is smaller and simpler things. I’m a little more old-fashioned, and the most important thing to me is my family. Yes, great career choice on my part; here I am writing a column that shines the spotlight directly on myself. But my wife, my three kids, and our cats–why cats? I don’t know, but yes, cats are what is most important to me.

I’ll be the first to admit that I outkicked my coverage when I married Jodi. She is my better half–or better three-quarters, and coincidentally, Jodi and I are celebrating 25 years together. So, not only is she my better three-quarters, she’s a saint. I can be a lot.

Anyway, when Jodi says, “Hey, I’ve got a really good idea. What do you think?” My ears perk up, and I know I need to listen. Usually, her ideas entail me ripping something out and rebuilding it, but not this time. During a conversation a few months ago, she said, “With the closure of the Minot taxi company, we have kids who were using the taxi who need to get to and from work for the ASTEP program, and they no longer have a ride. What do you think we can do to help?”

According to the ASTEP website (Advancing Students Toward Education and Employment Program), ASTEP is an inclusive college program for students with intellectual and developmental (I/DD) disabilities. Located at Minot State University since 2010, ASTEP partners with MSU and Dakota College at Bottineau to provide the only program in North Dakota to support young adults with I/DD to attend college. Twenty students attended annually from all over the state as well as from neighboring states. In an inclusive and supportive environment, ASTEP students attend college courses with students who don’t have disabilities, earn meaningful credentials, gain employment, and learn independent living and social skills. ASTEP’s goal is to make the dream of college a reality for students with I/DD and create quality futures for these individuals to live and work in their communities.

Some full disclosures are: Jodi works for the North Dakota Center for Persons with Disabilities (NDCPD), which the ASTEP program is a part of at Minot State. My middle son, Isaac, is a freshman at Minot State in the communications disorders program and a mentor for ASTEP. Through that mentoring, I was exposed to two amazing young men participating in the program who work for a local business. Isaac’s job is to be a mentor for them and support them in completing the tasks that they need to get done. The two young men Isaac mentors do not need the support, but a few nights each month, we give Isaac and the two students a ride so they can work at the local business. It has been a pleasure to get to know these two young men and the passion that they have for this job and life.

It was obvious that I needed to find a way to help. So once Jodi brought up that there was a need to help students who might not be able to otherwise afford transportation, I went to work the next morning and called Jason Zimmerman, the president of the Minot Area Community Foundation. I learned a long time ago that if you need help or answers in the world of nonprofit fundraising, the foundation is the first place to call. In my experience, the community foundation does amazing work in all the communities that I’ve lived in, and they don’t always get the recognition they truly deserve. The Minot Area Community Foundation is certainly no exception to that experience, nor are Jason and his staff, of one, Staci Kenney. The work they do in the Minot community is just amazing.

Part of the community foundation’s mission is “to promote charitable giving by serving as the center for community giving.” They do this by “encouraging philanthropy and developing permanent endowments of all shapes and sizes.” In so doing, “they strive to improve the quality of life for all that live in Minot and surrounding communities.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention it, but Jason took the ball and ran from there. During our conversation, he mentioned a few ideas on how to raise funds to help the young men and women in the ASTEP program. He told me he would call me back in a few weeks. By the time he called back, the Community Foundation had raised $2,500 for transportation for the students in ASTEP.

Shortly after that first phone call, a giving circle of the foundation, The Power of the Purse, granted an additional $2,500 to ASTEP for a total of $5,000. So to say Jason scored a touchdown is an understatement. I also wanted to put “money where my mouth is,” so I’m humbled to be able to donate $500 in The Minot Daily’s name to the fund to help the ASTEP students get to and from work, bringing the total raised to $5,500.

“We are pleased to collaborate with The Minot Daily News in awarding this grant to ASTEP. Reliable, affordable access to transportation is critical for these students as they pursue employment opportunities and build skills while gaining independence,” said Zimmerman.

Currently, the foundation manages more than 130 distinct funds. It granted more than $1.3 million in 2022 and more than $20.4 million since inception in 2000, supporting quality of life, scholarship and humanitarian initiatives in Minot and surrounding communities.