The picture above is Cadet Jonathan Brown (age 13) from Civil Air Patrol's Illinois Wing.

He is on his first orientation flight. The look of excitement on his face as he sits in the cockpit of a Civil Air Patrol plane is priceless.

Cadet Brown represents more than 26,000 cadets across our nation who have access to weekly programming, mentoring, summer encampments, and most importantly, the opportunity to grow in leadership, character, aerospace education and fitness.

No doubt you’ll agree the future is changing rapidly for our youth. 

We are living in a world where the next generation is being called upon to answer our nation's issues in cyber, to patrol the airways with unmanned aerial systems, and to be ready for the high number of jobs related to science, technology, engineering, aerospace, and math.

As I look at this photo of Cadet Brown, I’m sure he isn’t thinking about the expectations of tomorrow. But his unit leaders are, his teachers are, and Civil Air Patrol is at the forefront of providing those opportunities. All because of generous donors such as yourself.

Your generosity creates a better America...

Your generosity creates the future.