When one is disabled, life can appear to be focused on what one can no longer do. With Hope Outdoors the focus is on what can be done.
Hope Outdoors is a ministry that began in Chatom, Ala., when a physically challenged individual wanted to hunt, and a land owner helped the individual. It created such a blessing to the land owner that it birthed the non-profit organization.
The weekend of Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, for the second year in a row, Hope Outdoors of Marion County will be hosting a guided hunt. A total of 15 physically challenged hunters — some locally, out-of-county and even out-of-state — will be taking part in the hunt. Through fundraising throughout the year, everything needed to make the hunt successful the organization will have, including the firearms. There is even an all-terrain wheelchair designed to travel into the woods.
“We put them up in hotels and feed them and do what we can to make it a great experience,” Brent Pendleton, a board member for Hope Outdoors, said.
Pendleton also said the caretakers are encouraged to come as well, not to care of their patients but to be able to have a break from being the caretaker. Activities are planned for the caretakers to allow them to enjoy themselves while the patient is enjoying the hunt.
“It’s important to love on the caretakers, too,” Pendleton said.
The host church this year is First Baptist Church of Columbia and helping First Baptist are Life Church of God, Woodlawn and Morgantown Church of God.
Pendleton said they will hunt wild hogs and deer. Members of the organization will help with the cleaning of the game and send it home, iced down in a cooler, with the participant. The entire event is completely free of charge for the participant.
He credits Matt and Trish Taylor with help funding the event in Marion County and also Gregg Vowell, local chapter president. Pendleton said the majority of the money raised stays with the local chapter, and the rest usually pays for the insurance coverage needed for the hunt.
There is no age limit when it comes to the hunts. Hunters as young as 7 and as old as 83 have participated.
Hope Outdoors is totally dependent of donations. Landowners volunteer their property to use for the hunt, and through the donations all of the equipment needed to meet the needs of the hunters are met. In addition when the hunters arrive for their weekend, they are given a goodie bag full of fun stuff to make the hunt even better.
Pendleton said sponsorships are available from $250 to $1,000, and donations for the goodie bags and door prizes are needed as well.
If interested in sponsoring a hunter or making a donation, call Pendleton at (601) 549-0505.
