Marion resident and pilot Jan Aarsheim says she is a “woman on a mission.”

Three weeks ago, after hearing about the devastation left in Indiana by tornadoes, Aarsheim started a fundraiser to help.

A pilot for the past 22 years, Aarsheim decided she would fly donations out to Jeffersonville, Indiana on her own plane.

On Friday, Aarsheim and her co-pilot Bill Fryer took-off from New Bedford Regional Airport in her Bonanza A36 airplane.

Aarsheim filled her plane to its weight capacity of 960 pounds with $30,000 worth of new clothing, school supplies, hygiene products and gift certificates.

“It’s a lot of pleasure,” Aarsheim said. “It’s pretty nice to think that maybe you made a difference in someone’s life. People have certainly made a difference in mine.”

To get the fundraiser started, Aarsheim enlisted the help of Mattapoisett resident Beth Oleson and Marti Menard, an employee of JCPenney at Wareham Crossing. Together, they gathered local donations and helped “spread the word” throughout the community.

Representatives from WS Development, owners of Wareham Crossing, donated gift certificates and goods to the cause and got several retailers to do the same.

Oleson was on-hand for Aarsheim’s send-off as was Ina Roehr of Roehr Travel in Marion. Roehr said she was there to make sure Aarsheim’s departure was done right.

With champagne in hand, Roehr christened Aarsheim’s plane with “best wishes and a safe flight.”

“The small stuff, the big stuff...you can’t help seeing the good in people,” said Oleson. “It’s amazing what this one small idea has led to.”

For more on Jan Aarsheim’s fundraising efforts and for a video slideshow of her departure from New Bedford Regional Airport, visit Sippican.VillageSoup.com.