I know some of you guys here made it and your help was greatly appreciated, we couldnt of done it without your help For those that didnt it was a amazing event.
We had around 160 kids come on out and campout overnight with us and the majority of the parents camped with us also. We had around 50 volunteers to help and mentor the kids and help with everything from shooting to cooking.All the children and mentors recieved free hats and shirts to wear for the event that were provided in camo or other by Gander Mounatin, Scent Blocker, PSE, Easton, Mossy Oak,etc. We had BB gun shooting, Slingshot shooting,shot ballons, cans, bottles, apples and 3D targets, Football games, frisbee games, hayrack rides, 4 wheeler rides, 40 target 3D course, practice shooting range,Video Viewing area to watch Hunting Videos, group prayer, and I purchased 4000 marshmallows so the kids had a giant marshmallow fight.... it looked like snow on the ground after all the marshmallows had been thrown We had a giant bonfire , We grilled 350 hotdogs, 147 hamburgers and 80 chicken breasts, Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, apples, chips and pretzels, bagels, cereal,roasted marshmallows and some made smores, 15 gallons milk, 31 bags of 21lb bags of ice,had Pepsi and bottled water and thank god for the Army National Guard whom supplied us with a water buffalo so we had enough fresh water for all and it was really needed due to the heat and humidity, the kids also cooled off with some water fights, and the Tents they provided were completly full of kids from the boys and girls club . The kids played flashlight tag and ghost in the woods with plenty of screems and laughter to be heard by all. We also had a longdistance shot competition for the mentors, we placed a Rinehart Velociraptor in the Bean field set at 60 yards for the mentors to have a 1 shot competition but they had to shoot it using a kids recurve and a kids arrow.... it was a hoot watching all those grown men shooting a kids recurve [8D]to win a Gander Mountain Gift Certificate. A friend of mine whom flew in from Virgina for the event won the mentor shoot and it couldnt of happened to a nicer man, and the kids had a great time cheering for their favorite mentor. We did suffer a severe Thunderstorm that awoke all from their tents on saturday morning but no one was hurt, but there was plenty of mud for the kids to play in afterwards!!!!!!! The kids started shooter the 3D archery courses saturday morning and returned for lunch and after lunch returned to the course to shoot some more. Ray Howell held inprompto shooting competitions on the 3D course for the kids, he would ride the 4 wheeler out to the courses with the camera man and at random would select a group of kids and have them shoot their targets to win Gander Mountain Gift Certificates.
You couldnt turn your head without seeing a smile on a childs face. The Illinois Department of Natural Resourses sent one of their Conservation Police Officers out to our Kicking Bear Camp with their Conservation Trailor for all the kids to tour and it was a big hit with the kids, seeing the Big Buck Mounts and fur pelts and fish etc gave the kids a real hands on experience.We ended the day with our awards ceremony where World Renowned Bow Hunter and PSE Pro Staff Member Ray Howell called every child to the front and presented them with their prizes which ranged from New Compound and recurve bows, Arrows, Backpacks, fanny packs,Sims Limbsavers, Vibracheck Stabilizers, Bowhunting video tapes, gift certificates and hunting magazine subscriptions, hunting scents,broadheads, etc........
Then Ray called all the mentors to the front and awarded all the mentors with prizes that ranged from the same as the kids prizes but also included Adult Compound Bows, framed hunting prints, tree stands etc....
A special moment was when Ray Howell called to the front of the group a small 5 year old boy that Ray introduced and told us the story of how he was mentoring this small boy and had taken him on a hog hunt and the small boy shot and killed 2 hogs at the age of 5
All the children left with a smile and gifts in hand and many asked if they could come back to the next camp we have.... The kids had a blast and so did the adults!!!!!!!!!!!