EDGEFIELD, S.C. — The Michigan NWTF Beard and Spurs Chapter recently hosted its 30th Annual JAKES Day for youth with disabilities — a group that often lacks opportunities to try outdoor shooting sports or fishing unless someone makes them available.
“It was a perfect day,” said Dave Potter, NWTF Beard and Spurs Chapter president. “Some of the special education teachers reached out to me and said it was such a great event for their students. Everyone caught a ton of fish, and the kids always think that’s the greatest thing because a lot of them have never been fishing before.”
This year’s event welcomed more than 50 children with physical and learning disabilities to participate in four outdoor stations: fishing, archery, slingshot shooting and an interactive and educational wild turkey food activity.
Students learned about what wild turkeys eat and who their natural predators are. To put their knowledge to the test, they played a relay game, using spoons to scoop rubber insects, nuts, beads and pom-poms out of bowls that were spaced out between pictures of predators such as skunks, snakes, owls, bobcats, coyotes or raccoons. Whichever relay team was able to collect the most food from the bowls won the game.
Potter and his committee also invited 15 National Honor Society students from St. Regis Catholic School to volunteer and work with the young attendees. For a lot of them, it was their first time trying activities like fishing and archery, so they were able to try each of the stations themselves.
This event provides an exceptional opportunity for children who often face barriers to participation in other settings. Getting these kids involved in the outdoors lights a fire in them. When they’re fishing or trying archery for the first time, they aren’t being told what they can’t do. Potter sees kids continue to go fishing on a regular basis after the event.
Potter believes that when organizations invest time in helping children with disabilities, their parents may become more supportive of hunting and outdoor traditions.
“Parents will be able to say, ‘I’m not a hunter, but this hunting group helped us out, and I want to vote in their favor,’” Potter said. “But mostly, I like providing these kids the opportunity to get out there and enjoy something that all of us volunteers get to do without a second thought. We take the opportunities for granted. These kids need someone to help them plan something, and we’re lucky to have the opportunity to do that once a year for them.”
About the National Wild Turkey Federation
Since 1973, the National Wild Turkey Federation has invested over half a billion dollars into wildlife conservation and has positively impacted over 24 million acres of critical wildlife habitat. The NWTF has also invested over $10 million into wild turkey research to guide the management of the wild turkey population and to ensure sustainable populations into perpetuity. The organization continues to deliver its mission by working across boundaries on a landscape scale through its Four Shared Values: clean and abundant water, healthy forests and wildlife habitat, resilient communities and robust recreational opportunities. With the help of its dedicated members, partners and staff, the NWTF continues its work to provide Healthy Habitats and Healthy Harvests for future generations.
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