Airstreamers support students
Trending
The Airstream Club International Rally partnered with Souris Valley United Way to hold a collection drive and packing event Thursday, Aug. 27, for the Backpack Buddies program that serves Minot elementary, middle and Air Force base schools. The Airstream club is additionally holding a fundraiser with the Minot Area Community Foundation, which is offering to match the donations up to $10,000.
According to Souris Valley United Way, one in five Minot students faces food insecurity; therefore, Backpack Buddies provides meals for local children who may struggle to have food on the weekends.
Over the course of the Airstream rally, attendees could donate food and money to support the program and could volunteer for the packing event on Thursday. Barb Hanson, the international rally community service project chair, said the club hoped to pack 2,000 bags.
"The airstreamers could donate a couple different ways," Hanson said. "They could bring food items, and we had the list of food that goes into each backpack. Each state or region has a club and they do local rallies leading up to this event and many of them took donations of food and then somebody brought the food here, or they did monetary donations. So many of the clubs were so generous."
In an effort to raise even more money for the program, one Airstream member handmade a quilt with an Airstream on it, along with North Dakota symbols and features, to raffle off. Vendors such as Molecular Advanced Coatings and Vinnie's additionally participated in the efforts to raise money by offering incentives that can cost several thousand dollars, according to Hanson.
The Backpack Buddies program began in 2014, and in the 2025-2026 school year, more than 630 students in the local area relied on Backpack Buddies to have enough food to eat on the weekends. For those who cannot donate food, the program fundraises money to continue supporting initiatives. Eight dollars feeds one child in the Minot area for a weekend.
Every week, volunteers come together to pack bags of food that are donated by the community and then are transported to 10 local schools, where teachers place them into certain students’ backpacks discreetly.
Backpack Buddies prioritizes shelf stable foods that children can prepare safely and easily. Food on the list included, mac and cheese cups, applesauce pouches, ramen, fruit snacks, oatmeal, soup, tuna, ravioli, crackers, granola bars, cereal, Cheese-Its and other snacks. Taking into consideration all children, including those with allergies, the Airstream rally directed its members to exclude food containing peanut butter or nuts.
The Airstream club, according to its website, challenged attendees to bring enough food to pack 2,300 bags and raise enough money to reach its goal of $10,000. Furthermore, the website states that each rally is an opportunity to live up to Airstream inventor Wally Byam's creed to connect and give back positively to their host cities.
Hanson explained the club connects with local residents and area businesses to see where they can help.
"Whenever we have our rallies, in whichever community we're in, we really look at the needs of the community and talk to the people in that community," Hanson said. "Early on we talked with the Minot Area Community Foundation, the United Way and we just asked, 'What are the needs of the community?'"
The generosity that has been shown throughout the rally to each other and the Minot community is second nature, according to Hanson.
"Airstreamers are very generous. They care about the country, the environment and they care about the communities that we go into. We always try to give back because we've enjoyed it, the area and the people who serve us. We want to serve them," Hanson said.
"This whole week has just been kind of overwhelming because I'm working with people that have been so generous," Hanson said. "I think because it’s the kids that we're serving. We are so blessed to be able to do this lifestyle and to think that there are children that don't have food on the weekend - that their main source of food is what they eat at school. They're just stepping up to the plate."