A Call for Support

This is the letter we are sending out to local businesses.  If you know of a local business that would be interested in participating, please feel free to copy and paste this letter and hand it out!

Dear Local Business,

    My name is Steven Fraase, I am a member of the North Dakota National Guard.  I want to tell you about an upcoming event called March to Mandaree and an opportunity for you to help us out.  During our unit’s tour in Afghanistan 2005-2007 we lost 4 soldiers.  I, and others in the service, will be honoring these fallen soldiers and their families with a 412 mile walk across North Dakota.  The walk begins with services in Grand Forks and Wahpeton, the home town and burial site of Chris Kleinwatcher, then will continue through the state to Bismarck, the homes of Curtis Meher and Travis Van Zoest, and end up in Mandaree, the home of Nathan Goodiron.  Those participating will be marching “legs” of the journey from 10-30 miles each day for two weeks starting June 17th and ending July 3rd.  These dates may change due to the flooding in Bismarck and the active duty of many of the participants. 

    We are asking for the help of local businesses along the way to support these soldiers during their walk.  In return for your generosity, we will gladly announce your business name on our blog (www.marchtomandaree.blogspot.com) as well as on our Facebook page (currently over 1280 followers).  Larger donations will be given space on a banner that will travel with the marchers along the highway and be displayed at each campsite.  Our full Itinerary is online at www.marchtomandaree.blogspot.com.   You can contact us via email at marchtomandaree@hotmail.com.  We also are glad to accept monetary donations.

    We appreciate your time and help!

God Bless,
Steven Fraase

Items Needed for March to Mandaree:

Gear:  Insect Repellent, High SPF Sunblock, lip balm, foam coolers, sports socks, Body Glide, first aid kit, large sized bandages, sports tape, plastic rain ponchos, grilling charcoal or wood, aluminum foil, PORTABLE TOILET, fuel gift cards, paper plates, foam cups, napkins, plastic utensils, reusable drinking containers, sporting goods gift cards (I.e. Scheels, Cabella’s etc), containers for ice, hand or baby wipes, sanitizing wipes, antibacterial soap

Food (we may feed 20-50 participants each day for 2 weeks):  bottled water, sports drinks, grilling meat (hotdogs, hamburger, steak, brats, chicken), side dishes, bags of ice, protein bars, cereal bars, buns, bread, condiments, peanut butter, jelly, sandwich meat, fruit (fresh or canned), vegetables (fresh or canned), cooking oil, coffee, drink mixes

Along with this we can now receive donations right here on the side bar.  Just click the “DONATE” button.  You can send any amount you wish, and believe us, anything helps!

We are also looking for those participant who may not not be able to walk, but could provide a cold salad or other meal item along the stops.  We need additional chase vehicle drivers as well.  Please email us if you can help out!!

The first order of T-shirts is going to be submitted today, but we will do one more order soon, those shirts may not be available at the start of the March, probably by the second week.

THANKS!