SANDUSKY, Ohio — Space -- themed charity organizations -- the final frontier. These are the voyages of the 3News Enterprise.
Our mission: to explore strange new worlds! To boldly go… to the Sandusky Mall!
Somewhere in here past the food court, beyond the Aeropostale and wait, there it is! Nestled between CHAMPS Sports and Books-a-Million, stands the world headquarters of “The International Federation of Trekkers, Inc.”
It’s an organization of Star Trek enthusiasts that devotes time to charitable causes. But how did this happen and why are we in Sandusky?
Fortunately, I found a high ranking officer to issue me a status report - the organization's president, Russ Haslage, explained that The Federation is celebrating it's 40th anniversary this year.
"The Federation is a nonprofit organization. It's the creation of [Star Trek creator] Gene Roddenberry and myself," Haslage said. "I contacted him after I became a fan because I didn't like what was available out there for fans. A week and a half or so later, Gene called me back and I said, 'what do you think a true Star Trek fan organization should do'? He said 'they'd go places and help people. So that's what we should do in this new federation.'"
But how did this international organization end up in the Sandusky Mall?
"The Federation started in Northern Ohio and all of the chapters are powered from us here," Haslage explained. "Each chapter gets to pick what they want to focus on because of their location. In LA (Los Angeles) right now, they're working with the floods, and our chapter out in New Orleans is always [focused on] hurricane relief. And we've got a chapter in Zimbabwe that's an orphanage."
Local chapters have helped deliver adaptive bikes to kids with disabilities, and last year made regular deliveries of bottled water to East Palestine. Haslage explained that the mission of the Federation is rooted in the philosophy of the series itself.
"In order to get to a better future, like the future in Star Trek that Gene envisioned, is where there's no greed. There's no hunger because we all get along."
Their cause is noble, to be sure. And their base of operations is a Star Trek fan’s dream, with no shortage of show memorabilia. All revenue supports their missions.
"Nobody's paid. So we don't have administrative costs, and that allows us to give 100% of donations to the humanitarian fund to go to help people," Haslage said. "So we have collectibles from '80s, '90s or maybe a couple of '70s things here."
The new Federation HQ here at Sandusky Mall is already impressive, But Russ says they’re just getting started, with new installations in progress and plans to expand, as I learned on my space tour of the facility. And inspired by the space moment, I decided to go all in and join the cause.
In the Star Trek series, the prime directive of the Federation states that Starfleet does not interfere in the lives of other cultures, even to help them. But much like the crew of the Enterprise, this squad tends to bend the rules a bit, lending a helping hand to those in need when they can. And of course, it’s also just a fun world to hang out in for a while.
So from all of us here at the Federation headquarters in Sandusky to all of you: may you live long and prosper.