SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The nonprofit organization Nation of Patriots tours the country with the goal of supporting veterans who are in need. Their unique fundraising effort reached Sioux Falls Sunday with a special ceremony.

The annual “Patriot Tour” brings an American flag across all fifty states in just 115 days, mostly by motorcycle. The flag has always either formerly been flown in a military operation or over the White House. Flag bearers are responsible for honoring and protecting the flag as they travel through their state and are relieved of their duties after they pass it to the next flag bearer in the next state in a ceremony. As they unite to honor members of the armed forces, they take in donations to be directly given to veterans who need help financially.

The South Dakota chapter received the tour flag Sunday from the Nebraska chapter at Veterans Memorial Park in Sioux Falls. For veterans like the Regional Manager Kevin Stoterau, who served in both the Navy and Army for 38 years, it’s an honor to help those who also served our country, whom he considers to be brothers and sisters.

“Me being a career military and a disabled veteran, I mean, I get nothing,” said Stoterau. “I’m not in financial crisis. Everything, the gas, the hotels and whatnot, I pay for out of pocket and I can. But to me helping a fellow veteran is extremely important.”

Stoterau’s spouse, Dawn Ackerman Stoterau, takes pride in being the flag bearer for this stretch of the tour.

“It means everything,” Ackerman Stoterau described. “I’m an incredibly proud American and I don’t care what side of the aisle you are, what your political views are, we all have one common factor and it’s this flag and the men and women who fought for it and continue to fight for it.”

Though she didn’t serve in the military, she’s seen the special bond veterans have with one another firsthand and been welcomed into the family. Giving to brothers and sisters with shared experiences is a cause worth the mission.

“It’s something unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else,” Ackerman Stoterau explained. “It’s a privilege to be included in that and the stories I’ve heard about different conflicts, wars from all of these veterans, it makes you cry, it makes you laugh and it makes you prouder than you ever thought you could be.”

“Being in the military, one thing it taught me [was] all family does not have to be blood,” Stoterau recalled. “It’s a family-orientated thing. You learn you have a lot more family than you ever knew.”

Stoterau said that what makes the Nation of Patriots special is that they can make sure that the money makes it to the intended recipients in the donor’s state. While there are many great nonprofit organizations that help veterans, the Nation of Patriots is volunteer-led and every penny donated goes directly to a veteran’s family that has been vetted, cutting past operating costs.

“It is an extremely worthy cause. It’s transparent. I’m not putting any other organization down. There are plenty of organizations out there that you see advertisements for, but not all of the money that gets donated goes to a veteran. A lot of them have overhead expenses, they have employees.”

Donations can be made in person at each stop of the tour or can be made on their website. If you are a veteran in need of financial assistance, a grant application can be found here.

The flag will make its next stop in Watertown at VFW Post 750 on Tuesday. From there, Army veteran Tim Simonton will be the flag bearer until it gets handed off to the North Dakota chapter in West Fargo. The tour ends in the state where it started and this year’s tour started in Kansas.

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