Hunterdon County New Jersey The Spruce Run Chapter (New Jersey) celebrated the fifth anniversary of its annual Wheelin' Sportsmen event, Jan. 20-22. The event was at the Heron Glen Golf Course, which is owned by a country club and not usually open to hunting.

Hunterdon County approached the chapter about partnering on an event that would have dual benefits: help people with disabilities have an accessible place to hunt and control the deer population that was damaging the golf course.

Cart paths and a ready supply of golf carts were excellent for transporting hunters to their spots. The chapter also paid for the construction of wooden wheelchair accessible hunting blinds for the event.

This year, the chapter hosted 13 disabled hunters who harvested seven deer. Person Gains Butcher donated the processing for each hunter's deer.

Illana Burkhart
Wheelin' Sportsmen Coordinator

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Check out Texas Comanche Creek, Inc., www.comanchecreek.net

New ways to fund events

The Wheelin' Sportsmen program relies on the generosity of supporters and corporate partners to keep it successful. A challenging economic environment the last couple years led volunteers to find creative ways to raise money to support Wheelin' events.

Here's what one group is doing in Texas.

For more than a decade, the NWTF has been fortunate to have as good friends a group of outdoorsmen that operate a hunting facility near Quanah, Texas. Initially, the primary purpose of the facility was to entertain business customers, as well as for development and testing outdoor sporting goods. Even though it stayed busy with business related activities, they still donated hunting packages to the NWTF for its fundraising efforts.

In 2009, Mike Poe, manager of the facility and longtime friend of Wheelin' Sportsmen, stopped using the property for business and filed for a nonprofit charter that specifically states the facility is to be used to benefit the NWTF and, in particular, the Wheelin' program. Texas Comanche Creek, Inc., was born.

That same year, Dunn's Sporting Goods, a retail chain with stores in Missouri, Illinois and Kentucky, came on board as a corporate sponsor of Texas Comanche Creek. They have been instrumental in helping offer once-in-a-lifetime hunts for Wheelin' Sportsmen members.

As the number of hunts at Comanche Creek increases each year, so do the expenses. Mike helps financially support their Wheelin' hunts through a retail program called Send Out Cards. He began using Send Out Cards to correspond in a personal and affordable manner with guests of Comanche Creek, as well as the individuals who make their operation possible. He has since signed up as a distributor, and now individuals can purchase personalized greeting cards through him. His sales go toward the costs of hosting Wheelin' Sportsmen hunts.

Take a look at Mike's website: www.sendoutcards.com/113987. Buy a card or two and help a fellow NWTF member get back into the hunt. Perhaps Mike's efforts will give you ideas on how to fund your own events.

I'd love to hear what your chapter or group is doing to raise money and how you've stayed successful during a down economy. Send them to iburkhart@nwtf.net. Plus, it'll give me a chance to say thanks for the extra effort. — Illana