Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors, Inc. Receives Grant From Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund
Wichita, KS, March 1st, 2023 Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors announced today the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund has awarded a grant to Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors to further their mission to get kids out hunting and fishing through outdoor mentorship.
The need for this program was determined by the steady decline in hunting and fishing licenses sales since the early ‘80’s. If this decline continues, our state fish and wildlife agencies will lose the funding needed to conserve wildlife in Kansas and other states. In fact, a recent US Fish and Wildlife survey indicates that fewer than five percent of youth sixteen years of age and older hunt. This number is half of what it was fifty years ago. Imagine what our world will look like when we make a conscious effort to get more kids out hunting, fishing, and enjoying outdoor recreation through mentorship. Imagine more kids disconnecting from their phones and social media and connecting with nature. Imagine our youth having knowledge of habitat, conversation, and harvesting their wild game to provide to their family and friends. imagine families retreating to the outdoors because they have the confidence and desire to do so. That is the world that we are striving to create!
Vice President Brittany French said, “there are not a lot of programs that are serving the number of youth we are serving through outdoor mentorship. We are thankful that Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Funds see the value in our mission! We firmly believe that it is our responsibility to provide new and continued outdoor opportunities so our youth can learn more about the outdoors and our volunteer mentors can share their wisdom with the next generation.”
Our program aims to serve youth who are interested in hunting and fishing but face barriers that limit their ability to pursue that interest. We serve a wide swath of youth who come from organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Youth Horizons, High School and College Shooting Sports Teams, youth who just completed Hunter Education, and youth who are interested in the outdoors.
“Thanks to the generosity of Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris and the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund, Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors will be able to expand our efforts to get more youth outdoors, hunting and fishing,” stated Mike Christensen, President of Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors, Inc. “We are grateful to have an organization like the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Outdoor Fund lending their support to our efforts.”
The youth in our community need the outdoors today more than ever before. Our vision empowers youth to be part of the outdoors, learn about conservation, locally source their own food, develop friendships, and advocate for what they are passionate about.
About the Bass Pro Shops Cabela’s Outdoor Fund
Under the visionary leadership of founder Johnny Morris, Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's is leading North America's largest conservation movement. Together with our partners in conservation, we're positively shaping the future of the outdoors through donations, grant-making and advocacy. The 501c3 Outdoor Fund raises funds to support conservation efforts by activating more than 200 million passionate sportsmen and women rounding up their purchases in Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's stores and online.
About Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors
Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors’ mission is to provide outdoor experiences and ongoing opportunities to children and mentors in order to develop future generations of hunters and anglers, thereby positively impacting the conservation of natural resources and the lives of children.For more information about Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors, please visit http://www.outdoormentors.org.
Wichita, KS, October 3, 2022--- Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, Inc. has officially partnered with HuntStand, the most popular hunting and land management application in North America that combines advanced mapping, premium satellite layers, weather data and dozens of other useful features.
“Establishing a partnership with Pass it On – Outdoor Mentors aligns perfectly with one of our core conservation pillars—supporting the R3 movement,” said Brian Murphy, HuntStand’s V.P. of Strategic Partnerships. “Our team of dedicated hunters and conservationists at HuntStand has spent more than a decade developing an indispensable toolset for hunters of all experience levels. This is especially true for new hunters searching for places to hunt, learning basic field navigation skills, and determining when and where to hunt.”
“We are on track to host over 500 events in Kansas and Iowa this year,” stated Brittany French, Vice President of Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors. “We will have over 1,500 youth in the field this year accompanied by passionate adults. With support from HuntStand we will be able to equip them with technology to fast-track their learning curve, while enhancing their outdoor experiences.”
“We are delighted to support Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, one of the leading R3 efforts in the United States,” said Lanford Holloway, CEO of TerraStride, Inc., HuntStand’s parent company. “We are eager to introduce our millions of users to their great work, and look forward to supporting their continued growth and impact recruiting the next generation of hunters.”
Mike Christensen, President of Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors commented, “One of the greatest barriers faced by the youth in our program is obtaining access to hunting properties. Exposing them to excellent tools like HuntStand helps us overcome these barriers while increasing their confidence to go afield on their own. It’s a true win-win situation for everyone.”
About HuntStand
HuntStand is the world’s most widely used hunting app with millions of active users. The app affords full offline capabilities, nationwide property ownership information, multiple satellite base layers, detailed weather information, and advanced map creation and sharing capabilities. HuntStand also offers a top-notch high-resolution map printing service. For more information, go to www.huntstand.com
About Pass It On - Outdoor Mentors
Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors’ mission is to provide outdoor experiences and ongoing opportunities to youth and volunteer mentors in to develop future generations of hunters and anglers, thereby positively impacting the conservation of natural resources and the lives of youth. Our program focus is to bridge the gap between target shooting and outdoor recreation, but will take any youth out hunting and fishing. We take great pride in passing it onto the next generation! For more information about Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, please visit www.outdoormentors.org.