In my Elk Odyssey thread you heard me write about some folks we met in Northern New Mexico who treated us like family. They offered us their cabin in the woods, their mother cooked meals that they brought up the mountain, and they refused to take any sort of consideration for their hospitality. It was truly one of the more remarkable gestures of "welcome to our home" that I have ever experienced in my hunting travels.
If you ever travel to rural northern New Mexico, you will gain a new appreciation for "scratching out a living." It is a difficult place to survive, financially. Yet, in spite of the economic situation, the people I met were as genuine and gracious as any.
Over the course of the week we visited with the two brothers each evening. They have inherited the family cabin and they live for elk camp, whether they have tags or others have the tags. I came to find out that they coach the local junior high basketball team, with basketball being a seasonal highlight for many in the local area.
The discussion led to how the team is funded, etc. Not wanting to pry, but seeing the difficult conditions many of the locals face, I asked how some of these kids could afford shoes, physicals, road meals, maybe even how could the kids get back and forth to practice.
The two brothers explained how much of a hurdle those financial challenges were to these young kids. They went on to explain that of the 16 kids signed up for this season, only 6 could afford new shoes when practice starts mid-November. On many of the road trips last year, some kids would not join in the team meals or when they stopped for breaks on long road trips; reason being they did not have any money for meals or snacks. The two brothers fund a lot of that out of their own pockets.
As someone whose life was greatly improved by the lessons of competitive athletics, I can easily roll back the hands of time and see the same situation of some kids I grew up with. At that 12-14 year-old phase, a small gesture, a small opportunity to prove one's worth can make a huge difference in the path of a teenage boy who knows the rest of the world has things a lot easier than they do. There are so many life-lessons that come from sports that I have a hard time seeing some not get to participate because they can't afford road meals or shoes. And though I can't help every kid who cannot afford athletics, some cool twist of fate has connected me to these kids I don't even know.
And though I don't know these kids, I did get to meet their coaches, two high quality guys who are doing all they can to help these kids find ways to build some self esteem; to help them have some small victories in an otherwise difficult life. And since these coaches would not take any form of payment for the hosting they provided us, I figured I would find another way to do something that helps them in their effort to produce better young men in their community.
Howa gives me a few rifles to donate to causes each year. That small quota gets quickly allocated. But, they have made an exception to this cause and the coaches will be holding a fund raiser raffle for a Howa 7mm Kryptek. As much as that will help, I am going to add a bit more to the cause and I hope that the Hunt Talk crowd will like the idea.
I told you Leupold sent me a bunch of new scopes to sell or donate as I see fit. I still have one from last year that is new in the box; a VX-6 3-18x50mm CDS. Here is the link (product #115005) - https://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/vx-6-riflescopes/vx-6-3-18x50mm-30mm-side-focus-cds/
So here is what I want to do to raise some more money for this group of kids; a drawing for this scope. It is a closed raffle, only announced to people on Hunt Talk. And it is for a limited period of time. Between now and when I get back from Colorado on November 9th, every $50 received will get you a raffle ticket for this new VX-6, a $1,500 scope. If that means only one person sends $50, then we raise $50 and the odds are pretty good for the one guy who sent the money. If 5 guys send $50, that is great news for these kids. If 10 guys do it, better yet.
If any of you are interested, you have two options:
A picture of the 2014-15 Mesa Vista Junior High basketball team that when 16-4 last year.
Thanks for any support you can lend to this cause. I know this small gesture by the Hunt Talk crowd will make a big difference to some kid(s) who may have otherwise not been able to participate.
If you ever travel to rural northern New Mexico, you will gain a new appreciation for "scratching out a living." It is a difficult place to survive, financially. Yet, in spite of the economic situation, the people I met were as genuine and gracious as any.
Over the course of the week we visited with the two brothers each evening. They have inherited the family cabin and they live for elk camp, whether they have tags or others have the tags. I came to find out that they coach the local junior high basketball team, with basketball being a seasonal highlight for many in the local area.
The discussion led to how the team is funded, etc. Not wanting to pry, but seeing the difficult conditions many of the locals face, I asked how some of these kids could afford shoes, physicals, road meals, maybe even how could the kids get back and forth to practice.
The two brothers explained how much of a hurdle those financial challenges were to these young kids. They went on to explain that of the 16 kids signed up for this season, only 6 could afford new shoes when practice starts mid-November. On many of the road trips last year, some kids would not join in the team meals or when they stopped for breaks on long road trips; reason being they did not have any money for meals or snacks. The two brothers fund a lot of that out of their own pockets.
As someone whose life was greatly improved by the lessons of competitive athletics, I can easily roll back the hands of time and see the same situation of some kids I grew up with. At that 12-14 year-old phase, a small gesture, a small opportunity to prove one's worth can make a huge difference in the path of a teenage boy who knows the rest of the world has things a lot easier than they do. There are so many life-lessons that come from sports that I have a hard time seeing some not get to participate because they can't afford road meals or shoes. And though I can't help every kid who cannot afford athletics, some cool twist of fate has connected me to these kids I don't even know.
And though I don't know these kids, I did get to meet their coaches, two high quality guys who are doing all they can to help these kids find ways to build some self esteem; to help them have some small victories in an otherwise difficult life. And since these coaches would not take any form of payment for the hosting they provided us, I figured I would find another way to do something that helps them in their effort to produce better young men in their community.
Howa gives me a few rifles to donate to causes each year. That small quota gets quickly allocated. But, they have made an exception to this cause and the coaches will be holding a fund raiser raffle for a Howa 7mm Kryptek. As much as that will help, I am going to add a bit more to the cause and I hope that the Hunt Talk crowd will like the idea.
I told you Leupold sent me a bunch of new scopes to sell or donate as I see fit. I still have one from last year that is new in the box; a VX-6 3-18x50mm CDS. Here is the link (product #115005) - https://www.leupold.com/hunting-shooting/scopes/vx-6-riflescopes/vx-6-3-18x50mm-30mm-side-focus-cds/
So here is what I want to do to raise some more money for this group of kids; a drawing for this scope. It is a closed raffle, only announced to people on Hunt Talk. And it is for a limited period of time. Between now and when I get back from Colorado on November 9th, every $50 received will get you a raffle ticket for this new VX-6, a $1,500 scope. If that means only one person sends $50, then we raise $50 and the odds are pretty good for the one guy who sent the money. If 5 guys send $50, that is great news for these kids. If 10 guys do it, better yet.
If any of you are interested, you have two options:
1. Notify me via PM and I can send you a PayPal invoice to pay for your ticket. We will absorb the PayPal fee on our end. It might take a while for me to do this, given I will be on the road much of this time.
2. You can send a check to 6341 Johnson Road Bozeman, MT 59718 with a note that this is for the Mesa Vista fund raiser.
2. You can send a check to 6341 Johnson Road Bozeman, MT 59718 with a note that this is for the Mesa Vista fund raiser.
A picture of the 2014-15 Mesa Vista Junior High basketball team that when 16-4 last year.
Thanks for any support you can lend to this cause. I know this small gesture by the Hunt Talk crowd will make a big difference to some kid(s) who may have otherwise not been able to participate.
