State game agencies are our partners in conservation and are almost always willing to help with JAKES events. Have them set up a station to teach participants (and their parents) about the roles they play in your state. To find your state agency, visit www.fws.gov.

Try these ideas for a non-traditional JAKES event:

Have youth participate in a stewardship project, such as a tree planting.
Recruit the older Xtreme JAKES in your chapter to help plan an event for the younger members.

JAKES Planting Trees

Last September, this group of teens from Jessup, Ga., ran an entire JAKES-themed banquet themselves. From the games to the live auction, they took part in all the workings of a fundraiser.

Mandy Harling
JAKES Coordinator

Mentored hunts make great JAKES events

When most people think of a JAKES event, they picture the traditional round robin day outdoors where youth rotate through stations. While this type of day is probably most common, JAKES events can take many forms, including a hunt.

Last fall, the NWTF’s outreach team developed a pilot program where we took active duty soldiers, sportsmen with disabilities, women and youth (many of whom had never hunted before) on a dove hunt with a mentor. Through these hunts we introduced many people not only to hunting, but to the NWTF as well. Each participant received an NWTF membership along with an unforgettable day outdoors.

Many NWTF chapters host mentored hunts in addition to traditional JAKES events.

The premise is simple: Find volunteers in your chapter who are willing to take children hunting.

However, you should register these hunts just as you would a regular JAKES event, so they are covered under NWTF insurance. Each attendee should sign an NWTF release form.

The premise is simple: Find volunteers in your chapter who are willing to take children hunting.

And it’s important to make sure everyone abides by the state’s game regulations. Check with the agency to see if license fees can be waived for sanctioned hunts for youth, military on leave or hunters with disabilities. For example, Virginia’s recent groundbreaking legislation allows NWTF chapters who host JAKES events to purchase temporary permits to cover all youth involved.

And why not ask qualified agency personnel to give a hunter safety course before the hunt?

One of the most successful programs used to introduce new people to hunting is the Wisconsin Learn to Hunt Program. Under the direction of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, participants receive both classroom and field instruction prior to an actual hunt. Each new hunter is paired with a mentor, oftentimes an NWTF volunteer, who takes them on hands-on, instructional hunt.

We hear it often, but young people are one of our greatest resources. It’s up to us to teach them about our sport and its role in conservation. — Mandy