As we think about Father’s Day this upcoming Sunday, I would like to take this moment to celebrate my father and founder of Venti-Now, John Molander. In the last few months I have been in awe of what he has accomplished. John saw a need in the community for ventilators, designed one, put together his A-Team of volunteers, has a working unit with FDA EUA, and created the non-profit Venti-Now in just 5 weeks. You may think this is a singular endeavor, but the truth is he does community projects like this on a regular basis.
“What would help look like?” I have had the privilege of hearing my dad ask that question many times over the years. When he sees a need in the community the first thing he asks is can I help, and the second thing he asks is what would that help look like? It is not unusual for my dad to see a newspaper article that expresses a need in the community, contact the person in need, and bring together his experience, resources and connections to fulfill that need. John has used his ties to family, work, and community to accomplish some incredible things over the years; such as when his family and P&G donated PUR water purifying packets to Guatemala after an earthquake rocked the country. Once again, John saw a need in the community and asked himself; what skills and resources do I have that could help solve this problem and what would help look like?
The Molander Family: Coming from a family of 9 children with a wide range of skills he turned to them first. His sister Karin relayed to John what the need was; a lack of ventilators. Karin Molander, an Emergency Medicine physician, had this to say; “When he mentioned the plan he was brewing, I got very excited and I "put my money where my mouth is" and donated time and money toward the non-profit Venti-Now, he created for this cause. It has turned into an incredible family experience; from seeing my sister Kristine help John with creating his business and developing marketing tools; my sisters Julia and Anna providing legal input, to my niece Laura fine-tuning her videography skills, graphic design (love that logo!) and social media presence. I know our mom, would be very touched (or as mom would be apt to say-tickled pink") to know that her children and grandchildren are working directly to help others.”
Julia Molander, John’s sister, a lawyer, had this to add; “Every night at dinner our dad asked his nine kids “what did you accomplish today?” Brother John usually would respond with some project he made from odds and ends around the house. We knew at a young age that he was destined to be an engineer, and so he did, with his entire career at Proctor & Gamble. Fifty years later, now retired from P&G, he continues to work on projects involving practical solutions to a myriad of problems.”
