A table overflows with soap, towels, spatulas and other household items. Teens in blue uniforms, mostly boys, sign the visitor form for the retirement home. This was the scene as Covenant Living of Golden Valley teamed up with the Color Guard of the Viking Composite Squadron of the Civil Air Patrol to gather items for the Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans (MACV).
The Civil Air Patrol is the auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force. Cadets are 12-18 years old. The Viking Composite Squadron is based in the Flying Cloud airport in Eden Prairie and made up of students in Wayzata, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie school districts. Julie Wyatt, an adult volunteer, explained that a “composite” squadron means there are also adults who train cadets how to operate aircraft. Will Duoma, 15, was encouraged to join for the opportunity to learn about flying.
“As soon as they become a member, they get five free orientation flights, which is five chances to go up in the air with a pilot,” Wyatt said. “And they will right then start teaching them. After that, then they have to decide if they’re going to carry on with piloting. They’ve got to do ground school, and they need to do pilot school and things like that, but we’ve got that sort of track for them and we have scholarships for them as well.”
The Color Guard is a select group of dedicated cadets who learn how to post the colors and partake in competitions.
Adam Colaianni, 17, was eager for the competition. He called Color Guard his “pride and joy.”
“It’s a great organization for youth development, leadership development and character development,” Colaianni said. “The cadets are held to a really high standard. So I think if a teenager is looking for something to do with their time and they’re not like in an after school activity, then [I recommend] certainly trying out Civil Air Patrol.”
The Minnesota Cadet Competition is scheduled March 15-17. The Viking Composite Squadron’s Color Guard will be tested against other groups in trials such as physical fitness, posting of the colors, drills, uniform prep and spot inspection, a panel quiz and the service project. Cadets chose collecting supplies for MACV as their service project. They chose to partner with Covenant Living of Golden Valley because they have a rapport with them. The retirement home had asked cadets to post colors for last Veteran’s Day.
So in February, cadets and Covenant Living of Golden Valley residents collected household goods. Once all the supplies were collected, the cadets met with residents March 6. About a dozen seniors shared lemonade and cookies with the young people.
“When we see a young group like this that seems to be headed constructively to something, that’s helpful for us,” said Jim Carr, resident of Covenant Living and veteran.
Kurt Johnson, Metro Regional Director for MACV, came to collect the donations. MACV’s mission is to end veteran homelessness in Minnesota. The materials donated will be packed into move-in kits.
“These kits go to directly assist some of our veterans who are probably going through some of the most traumatizing experiences,” Johnson said.
In 2023, MACV served 2,654 veterans.
Johnson explained their current goal is “functional zero” homelessness among veterans.
“The goal when we say ‘functional zero’ does not necessarily mean that no veteran’s ever going to experience homelessness, but that means that if it does occur, it’s going to be brief, one time and non-recurring,” Johnson said.
The move-in kits make the transition a little easier.
“When you move somebody from a location like that into a permanent housing, it needs to be more than just like a bed and four walls; it needs to feel like a home,” Johnson said. “It’s the simple things like having paper towels and dish soap – all the things that you kind take for granted.”
Learn more about MACV at mac-v.org. Learn more about the Civil Air Patrol at mncadets.cap.gov.
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