Palm Coast, FL – As the price of goods continues to rise, so does the demand on the resources of nonprofit organizations.
Giving Teens-In-Flight a helping hand, Kathy Austrino was proud to present the Flagler-based organization with a $5,000 donation on Thursday, March 24.
Offering youth an opportunity to earn their private pilot’s license, Teens-In-Flight operates on a $350,000 – $400,000 annual budget that includes instructors, air plane maintenance and upkeep, storage and more. With the rising cost of fuel, executive director Ric Lehman said it’s taking more funding to carry on the same operations, and he was grateful for the donation from the TAG V. BEAR Foundation.
“It means a lot. What it means is that we’ll be able to reach even more local kids and help them get their pilot’s license. I think there’s a lot of confusion about what that really means. It’s not really about them getting the pilot’s license, believe it or not. It’s about what they learn and what they gain in the process,” said Lehman.
“Learning how to think, learning how to problem solve, learning how to plan, learning how to be accountable. Learning how to do all the things our grandparents taught us to do in previous generations, that aren’t being taught anymore and helps them to face what we call ‘life’,” he said.
After learning about the Teens-In-Flight program, Austrino, a real estate broker for TAG Ventures Real Estate Services, fell in love with the concept of providing a unique opportunity to teens struggling with the loss of a parent or loved one or in an at-risk situation.
“Our whole mission at the foundation is to assist children within families facing adversities,” shared Austrino. “The Teens-In-Flight program works hand-in-hand with that very mission. We know of folks personally who have had experience with (Teens-In-Flight), spoke about it. It’s run well and I think it’s just a great cause. I did fall in love with what they’re doing, but I’ve also had my eye on them for years anyway,” she said.
Started with children whose parent or sibling was lost on active duty in mind, retired Colonel Jack Howell, founder of the program, expanded it to include first responders and children in need.
He’s proudly watched as Teens-In-Flight graduates have gone on to serve in the nation’s armed forces and in the cockpit of global airlines.
“I got one girl flying F-18’s off a carrier right now,” he said with pride. “For me, just the joy in their face, is what it’s all about.”
For Kathy Austrino and her husband Dominic, it’s a natural extension of the work done by the TAG V. BEAR Foundation over the past six years. Supporting a number of charitable causes since 2016, beneficiaries like A Christmas to Remember, Flagler Volunteer Services’ Giving Store, Project WARM and the Flagler County Education Foundation are just a few of the beneficiaries of more than $50,000 in contributions from the foundation according to Austrino.
Not only does the foundation accept private donations to disburse among Flagler’s neediest and active charities, the Austrinos’ business, TAG Ventures Real Estate Services donates 10% of the house money – or money paid to the brokerage from real estate sales, to the foundation.
Set to host their TAG V. BEAR Foundation 7th Annual Dance/Dinner Fundraiser on June 9th at the Florida Agricultural Museum, Austrino has the business mascots front and center for the community to meet and help support.
“They got married June 9, and 2022 will be their 6th wedding anniversary and fundraiser. We will be hosting it at the Florida Agricultural Museum and the traditional sixth year anniversary gift is iron so we’re having a hoedown,” she said.
The TAG V. BEAR Foundation has a history of supporting children’s causes, and it’s an issue that deeply affects Kathy and Dominic Austrino.
“We just want to help. We have a heavy concern with mental health, substance abuse – which they go hand in hand, and children don’t always understand what’s happening around them and they have zero idea of what mental health is. If their mom and dad are struggling, that’s their norm. People need help. Life is hard. We all need help sometimes. So this is our part.”
To find out more about the TAG V. BEAR Foundation visit www.tagventuresrealestate.com.
