PF’s New “FOREVER Shooting Sports Program” Targets Five States
Pheasants Forever launched its new FOREVER Shooting Sports program this past July. We are excited about the potential of this new program because we know it’s a good addition to our No Child Left Indoors® initiative.
Shooting is a great way to get kids and their families involved and girls enjoy it as much as boys. Did you know it’s a sport seeing actual growth in numbers? It’s not only fun; it teaches participants how to handle guns safely. There are lots of good shooting programs out there and we don’t want to re-invent the wheel, just provide additional opportunities.
For the first year, the program is targeting five states – Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa and Ohio. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever chapters in these states will be able to apply for grants to start recreational shooting programs. In some of the states, chapters will enlist the help of scholastic clay coaches and teams to mentor new shooters. There are guidelines that need to be followed including helping other chapters and providing youth leadership opportunities. What we would really like to do is form shooting or conservation clubs where young people can shoot regularly and also be involved in other fun outdoor activities. We believe that repeated opportunities and good mentors are what make a difference between an occasional shooter and a future dedicated outdoors person and conservationist.
All of our chapters can apply for ammunition grants that will pay for half of the ammunition at a shooting event. We truly have an opportunity to help our chapters grow and offer fun events in their communities. It’s so important to get our kids involved in something that helps them interact with others and gets them away from computers and television. I think this just might do that for many.
What shooting experiences – plinking, competing or mentoring – are you involved in?
Get ‘em Outdoors is written by Cheryl Riley, Pheasants Forever’s Vice President of Education and Outreach. Email her at CRiley@pheasantsforever.org.
Pheasants Forever Ringnecks
To foster and nurture an enduring interest in shooting sports, wildlife conservation and upland game bird hunting in America’s young people.
Visit the new Ringnecks website:
The Ringnecks website has moved from www.ringnecks.org to www.uplandtales.org. This is in an effort to get the PF and QF Youth Programs online together. Check out the new website:
www.uplandtales.org
Or visit our Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/uplandtales
Rudy the Rooster – the mascot of PF’s Ringnecks program
The PF Ringnecks Program is dedicated to introducing youth to hunting, shooting sports and outdoor conservation through youth events, education, community service and cooperation with both governmental and non-governmental partnerships. Through a variety of programs, youth will gain knowledge, learn skills and develop a land ethic necessary to be responsible hunters and conservationists. As they grow up, they can in turn pass on the outdoor traditions of their youth to future generations.
Ringnecks is an extension of the vision of Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever to start a locally driven, nationally led conservation organization that will ensure continuing the tradition of upland game hunting. By recruiting and mentoring young hunters and conservationists, local chapters will be able to develop the volunteers of tomorrow that will be needed to carry on their work. As members’ ages increase and more and more people move away from rural lifestyles, it will be more important than ever to recruit a strong volunteer base. Young committee members will be needed who can step forward and take the reigns of leadership. Chapters that invest in youth programs are more apt to have that younger base of support when needed.
Ringnecks is open to any young person interested in the outdoors and conservation. You do not have to be a hunter. Contact Rich Wissink, PF and QF Youth Programs Coordinator or your local chapter to find out more information on Ringnecks events.
