Worthy Charities

[slidelock1]

I am the director of a gun club and our members would like to hold a shoot to support a charity or to donate funds to a worthy group. The problem is that there are so many out there, we are having trouble picking one. The American Red Cross, The Salvation Army, USO, The NRA, Breast Cancer, M.A.D., The American Cancer Society, Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of America, Habitat for Humanity, St. Jude, Toys for Tots, etc., are all very worthy organizations. I am looking for some input on these and others like them and, perhaps, other, maybe smaller, organizations that we have overlooked in our search. Your suggestions and recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

[EEH]

in todays times you could ask your members for a list of people in your town to help, and get a little PR.for you ( club ) and the shooting community as well..just my $.02

[NMBOpen]

Also check with the chosen charity - there are some who would object to how the funds are being raised

[moverfive]

No one should consider St. Jude if you are looking for that type of charity as they do not want to be associated with anything firearms related.

See the strings related to Sam Keen's Memphis Charity Challenge for the background story. In its place, Le Bonheur Children's Hospital has embraced Sam's efforts and thus should be put on folks consideration list.

[Sarge]

Being a veteran I say Wounded Warrior. But other than that I agree to find a local cause. Our local Steel match director just did this last week. He got word of a young child who is fighting illness with no insurance. He verified the facts then contributed all proceeds to the young boys family. He even made it an informal rummage sale of sorts. If you had anything you wanted to sell gun related such as brass, parts, etc just put all proceeds in the donation bucket. It worked out great and everybody KNEW EXACTLY where their money was going.

[lumpygravy]

+1 on making the effort to stay local to your community.

I've attended a number of charity matches where the proceed went directly to a community member in need. These have always left me with the warm fuzzies because I knew exactly where those proceeds went.

Ask around. The community member in need may or may not be a member of your shooting club.

[gohuskers]

Being a veteran I say Wounded Warrior. But other than that I agree to find a local cause. Our local Steel match director just did this last week. He got word of a young child who is fighting illness with no insurance. He verified the facts then contributed all proceeds to the young boys family. He even made it an informal rummage sale of sorts. If you had anything you wanted to sell gun related such as brass, parts, etc just put all proceeds in the donation bucket. It worked out great and everybody KNEW EXACTLY where their money was going.

Big +1 to this, Sarge. Burkett and others have raffled off guns in support of this foundation and they've gladly associated themselves with the shooting community.

[whitedog]

Short of local charity, wounded warrior is my choice. Good for you doing this and I hope you do well.

[slidelock1]

I never thought of the Wounded Warrior, kinda dumb, huh, as I am a Viet Nam veteran and feel a special kinship with all war veterans. Many thanks for that one!

[JFlowers]

Several years ago we did a Charity Match to raise money for the Women's Shelter at Sacred Heart. We raised $1700, far less than we had planned. When we presented the check we found out that our check was their single largest private contributor for the year.

[Pro-Pain]

Being a veteran I say Wounded Warrior. But other than that I agree to find a local cause. Our local Steel match director just did this last week. He got word of a young child who is fighting illness with no insurance. He verified the facts then contributed all proceeds to the young boys family. He even made it an informal rummage sale of sorts. If you had anything you wanted to sell gun related such as brass, parts, etc just put all proceeds in the donation bucket. It worked out great and everybody KNEW EXACTLY where their money was going.

I like this a lot. Maybe make entry fee $X amount of dollars and one or 2 items for the "goodwill/potluck/rummage sale" table.

Also, with the Boy Scouts, etc., maybe contact a local troop, have them present at the match, even to help with collections, taping/pasting, etc.

Maybe a fun shoot with the Boy Scouts using .22's after the main match? Or have competitors bring a .22, match a shooter with a scout and do a "team" challenge?

All seem worthy. I think if it's for a charity, you really can't go wrong with the one you pick.

[slidelock1]

I want to thank everyone for their input. Right now, I am torn between Make a Wish and Wounded Warrior charities. Being a vet, I lean towards W.W.'s, but I will let my Advisory Committee do their job and pick one. Again, thank you all.

Mick

[JediTodd]

I want to thank everyone for their input. Right now, I am torn between Make a Wish and Wounded Warrior charities. Being a vet, I lean towards W.W.'s, but I will let my Advisory Committee do their job and pick one. Again, thank you all.

Mick

Wounded warrior is a great charity. I know it's not the right season but we did a Steel Challenge match one December that in lieu of the match fee, you could bring a toy of equal value for the Marine's Toys for Tots charity. We had a bunch of toys and the club decided to donate the cash from the match as well. I believe that any type of charity that we can support is a good idea. Whatever you decide, I think it's a great thing you're doing!

[Forensics Doc]

May I suggest that a match be held with all proceeds going to Honor Air (www.honorair.com)? Honor Air is an organization that depends entirely on donations in order to fund trips for our World War II veterans to go to Washngton, DC to visit the World War II Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and other sites connected with their service. The only requirements are that they be veterans of WW II and never have seen the WW II Memorial. Of the approximately 16 million who served in WW II, only about 3 million are still alive. Approximately 1,200 die every day and within 5-10 years they will all be gone. Time is growing short for this generation.

The reason I suggest this is because I have just seen the effect it had on my dad, who took an Honor Air trip last Tuesday, May 10. At age 89 he had served in WW II and had never seen the Memorial but had always wanted to. Fortunately, despite his 89 years, he's in great health, takes extended walks daily, and reads voraciously. Still, he had never heard of Honor Air until I put him on the website. He signed up for a trip from Atlanta and found out a couple weeks ago he had been picked. Prior to the trip he was visited by a Guardian who came by the house to learn a little about dad, his service, and his overall health. He spent two hours just talking with dad about common interests as well as briefing him on what the trip would be like, what to expect, and to remind him to take any needed medications, etc. Each veteran is assigned his own Guardian who stays with the veteran at all times, helps him on and off the bus and plane, gets him to the transportation at the appointed time, and attends to his every need whatever it may be. So there were 99 veterans and 99 Guardians in addition to three medical personnel and various other personnel on the trip. No one receives a penny in compensation and the Guardians take time off from work at their own expense.

On the day of the trip I took dad to a community center north of Atlanta where we were to meet the bus taking them to the Atlanta airport. We arrived at 5:30 a.m., had a short meeting, said the Pledge of Allegiance, and began to board the three buses. The vets were usually wearing caps showing the name of the ship they served on, what branch of the military they served in, where they were stationed, or something memorable about their service. One was wearing a cap showing him to be a survivor of Pearl Harbor and another was a B-17 bomber pilot. Some were quite mobile, some were in wheelchairs, some used walkers, and a couple were blind. As they walked to the bus their escort, the Freedom Riders, formed a line and personally shook the hand of each veteran, thanking them for their service, wishing them a good trip, or in some other way making them feel like the special folks they are. It was a heartfelt gesture that wasn't unnoticed by the veterans.

After the veterans were aboard the buses, the Freedom Riders unfurled the American flags on the back of their Harleys and led the procession out of the parking lot, with a police escort in both the front and rear of the buses. I followed the buses a short way but before I turned in a different direction to go home I saw the procession pass under two extended ladders forming an arch beneath which an American flag hung, courtesy of the Roswell Fire Department.

Later that day dad called and to say he sounded like a chihuahua on meth would be an understatement. In rapid-fire sentences and with his voice up several octaves he explained what an incredible time he was having. Air Tran treated them like royalty, the DC police blocked intersections to let them through, and, best of all, people at the various sites they visited including the WW II Memorial, would come up to them and simply thank them for their service. As wonderful as seeing the WW II Memorial was, being recognized for their service, Dad said, was better still.

While they were there they saw the Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Iwo Jima monument, and a bit of Arlington National Cemetery. Shortly after seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, they boarded the buses for the trip back to Atlanta from Reagan and arrived back in Roswell about 11:00 p.m. after being up about 20 hours or so. I was there to pick dad up and when they got off the bus there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The veterans were beaming, many with tears in their eyes. Dad talked about it non-stop the next day, and after my wife and I arrived back in Knoxville dad called me several times to tell me things he had forgotten to tell me about the trip while we were there.

Although Honor Air started as the work of one man and in 2005 took only a handful of veterans to DC on private planes, today it has grown to have locations in 30 states and to date has taken over 63,000 veterans to the WW II Memorial.

All this is to say that I consider Honor Air a worthy recipient of proceeds from a match. Seldom have I been so impressed with an organization as I have this one and having seen the effect it had on my dad I am now in the process of contacting Honor Air to see how I can volunteer to help out the organization. I know that the trip from Knoxville costs approximately $500 for each veteran and presumably the same for each Guardian. What it costs from other locations, I don't know. Air Tran serves as the official airline of Honor Air and, I think, provides them with a number of free tickets. Given that they subsist purely on donations, proceeds from a match would be greatly appreciated.

I can think of no better way to honor those who have given so much and asked so little in return.

[slidelock1]

May I suggest that a match be held with all proceeds going to Honor Air (www.honorair.com)? Honor Air is an organization that depends entirely on donations in order to fund trips for our World War II veterans to go to Washngton, DC to visit the World War II Memorial, the Tomb of the Unknowns, and other sites connected with their service. The only requirements are that they be veterans of WW II and never have seen the WW II Memorial. Of the approximately 16 million who served in WW II, only about 3 million are still alive. Approximately 1,200 die every day and within 5-10 years they will all be gone. Time is growing short for this generation.

The reason I suggest this is because I have just seen the effect it had on my dad, who took an Honor Air trip last Tuesday, May 10. At age 89 he had served in WW II and had never seen the Memorial but had always wanted to. Fortunately, despite his 89 years, he's in great health, takes extended walks daily, and reads voraciously. Still, he had never heard of Honor Air until I put him on the website. He signed up for a trip from Atlanta and found out a couple weeks ago he had been picked. Prior to the trip he was visited by a Guardian who came by the house to learn a little about dad, his service, and his overall health. He spent two hours just talking with dad about common interests as well as briefing him on what the trip would be like, what to expect, and to remind him to take any needed medications, etc. Each veteran is assigned his own Guardian who stays with the veteran at all times, helps him on and off the bus and plane, gets him to the transportation at the appointed time, and attends to his every need whatever it may be. So there were 99 veterans and 99 Guardians in addition to three medical personnel and various other personnel on the trip. No one receives a penny in compensation and the Guardians take time off from work at their own expense.

On the day of the trip I took dad to a community center north of Atlanta where we were to meet the bus taking them to the Atlanta airport. We arrived at 5:30 a.m., had a short meeting, said the Pledge of Allegiance, and began to board the three buses. The vets were usually wearing caps showing the name of the ship they served on, what branch of the military they served in, where they were stationed, or something memorable about their service. One was wearing a cap showing him to be a survivor of Pearl Harbor and another was a B-17 bomber pilot. Some were quite mobile, some were in wheelchairs, some used walkers, and a couple were blind. As they walked to the bus their escort, the Freedom Riders, formed a line and personally shook the hand of each veteran, thanking them for their service, wishing them a good trip, or in some other way making them feel like the special folks they are. It was a heartfelt gesture that wasn't unnoticed by the veterans.

After the veterans were aboard the buses, the Freedom Riders unfurled the American flags on the back of their Harleys and led the procession out of the parking lot, with a police escort in both the front and rear of the buses. I followed the buses a short way but before I turned in a different direction to go home I saw the procession pass under two extended ladders forming an arch beneath which an American flag hung, courtesy of the Roswell Fire Department.

Later that day dad called and to say he sounded like a chihuahua on meth would be an understatement. In rapid-fire sentences and with his voice up several octaves he explained what an incredible time he was having. Air Tran treated them like royalty, the DC police blocked intersections to let them through, and, best of all, people at the various sites they visited including the WW II Memorial, would come up to them and simply thank them for their service. As wonderful as seeing the WW II Memorial was, being recognized for their service, Dad said, was better still.

While they were there they saw the Korean War Memorial, Vietnam Memorial, Iwo Jima monument, and a bit of Arlington National Cemetery. Shortly after seeing the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns, they boarded the buses for the trip back to Atlanta from Reagan and arrived back in Roswell about 11:00 p.m. after being up about 20 hours or so. I was there to pick dad up and when they got off the bus there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The veterans were beaming, many with tears in their eyes. Dad talked about it non-stop the next day, and after my wife and I arrived back in Knoxville dad called me several times to tell me things he had forgotten to tell me about the trip while we were there.

Although Honor Air started as the work of one man and in 2005 took only a handful of veterans to DC on private planes, today it has grown to have locations in 30 states and to date has taken over 63,000 veterans to the WW II Memorial.

All this is to say that I consider Honor Air a worthy recipient of proceeds from a match. Seldom have I been so impressed with an organization as I have this one and having seen the effect it had on my dad I am now in the process of contacting Honor Air to see how I can volunteer to help out the organization. I know that the trip from Knoxville costs approximately $500 for each veteran and presumably the same for each Guardian. What it costs from other locations, I don't know. Air Tran serves as the official airline of Honor Air and, I think, provides them with a number of free tickets. Given that they subsist purely on donations, proceeds from a match would be greatly appreciated.

I can think of no better way to honor those who have given so much and asked so little in return.

This sounds like a wonderful charity! Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. I will immediately contact them, get some information for my Advisory Committee. I think they'll embrace it. Mick

[Graham Smith]

Just a suggestion, before you look to any national organization, look locally. There are always some local organizations that need help. And not to seem crass but this sort of thing is good for public relations.

[vxhybrid]

+1 for the Wounded Warrior....

our soldiers can never have too much support

[Shooting4life]

I usually send my money to the second amendment foundation as well as the calguns foundation.