How can shed antlers help critically ill kids enjoy life? It's a long story, but a wonderful one. As NRA Family readers know, every year our deer population sheds its antlers after the rut. Finding these "sheds," as they're known, is both a fairly common sport and a way to make extra money. You see, shed antlers are highly prized for decorative purposes, with really terrific sheds netting hundreds of dollars.
And who has lots and lots of dream-quality sheds? Mark and Terry Drury, content creators who created extraordinary hunting videos and television shows for over 30 years as Drury Outdoors. The couple had collected a wealth of sheds from their properties in Iowa and Missouri, but they weren't content to simply sell them. Instead, the Drurys approached an outfit called Whitetails Unlimited (WTU) with an idea: Donating those high-quality sheds to use as a fundraiser for a worthy cause.
And what's a more worthy cause then making dreams come true for kids with life-threatening illnesses? The Drurys and WTU agreed, and that's how the Catch-A-Dream Foundation became the intended beneficiary of any funds they raised. Catch-A-Dream, unlike that other very famous wish-granting organization, grants wishes to ill kids who would like to hunt or fish. These once-in-a-lifetime dream hunting and fishing trips are open to juniors (age 18 or younger) across the United States and Canada who suffer from life-threatening ailments. Through these adventures, and exposure to outdoors-minded people who care, the program instills in these children a message of encouragement at a time when they need to know that hope does exist.
That's how the WTU Dream Sheds program began. So how's it going? Well, this past year, Whitetails Unlimited has granted more than $65,000 for the Catch-A-Dream Foundation. The majority of these funds come from WTU’s Dream Sheds program. Since the inception of Dream Sheds in 2012, Whitetails Unlimited has provided grants totaling more than $780,000 to the Catch-A-Dream Foundation.
For more information about the Catch-A-Dream Foundation, visit catchadream.org!
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