The DIYbowhunter.com team of volunteers, along with The Sportsman Channel and CableCares volunteers combined their efforts last night in the way of the Hunt.Fish.Feed. initiative at the LA Union Mission on Skid Row. Team DIY sponsored the event by providing over 250 lbs of bear, elk, wild pig, sheep, and deer along with tilapia, yellowtail and salmon. DIY had 13 volunteers there serving food, handing out water and cleaning trays. The Sportsman Channel provided many coordinators and volunteers to help us organize it al and CableCares brought a large number of volunteers that pitched in. The Mission had some great staff helping us all out, too. It was truly a combined effort.

The press was there covering the event and while Kate Linthicum over at the LA Times wrote a great article, I also wanted to share my take on the whole thing. 

First and foremost, this wouldn’t have happened without the help of fellow blogger Phillip Loughlin over at The Hog Blog. He wrote a blog back in early April regarding Hunt.Fish.Feed. and that he was thinking of attending the San Diego leg of the tour. His post got me thinking about going to help in San Diego, but I knew that a Wednesday evening would be a tough sell. I sent him a message inquiring about the program. He pointed me in the right direction and I was able to get in touch with Kim over at The Sportsman Channel. I asked if there was going to be anything around LA and that our team at DIYbowhunter.com could probably help out. Turns out LA wasn’t publicly advertised as a tour stop, but that they definitely needed a sponsor to get the meat. I presented the idea to Eric Welsh, DIYbowhunter.com owner and Pro Staff Member, and after careful thought he decided this was a opportunity we needed to be a part of. The challenge was this gave us only one month to contact hunters, collect the meat, and deliver it to the Mission. Time for the work to begin!

We sent emails, made phone calls and set up drop off points for sportsmen to bring their wild game meat. The phone calls and emails brought a lot of interest and found Eric making all of the arrangements to pick up the meat. He drove all over Southern California and Arizona to collect it all. It was a major task for one person to take on, but he took it in stride. There were more hunters willing to donate, but Eric did all he could to collect the over 250 lbs of meat in the short amount of time. He got it done and I’d say he did a great job!

Last night we all worked together for the common good. We served more than 800 meals to those less fortunate and we met some wonderful people. Gretchen Heffler, the Director of Development for Southern California of the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance (COHA) was their helping, as well as Los Angeles County Fish and Game Commissioner Timothy Jones. We hunters need these guys on our side and it was great seeing them there helping out.

Hunt.Fish.Feed. was a success on many levels. We were able to feed people who needed it. DIYbowhunter.com was able to connect with many organizations and let people know we want to help out where we can all while promoting the sport of hunting. I want to thank Kim and her team over at The Sportsman Channel for everything they did. Team DIY, thank you all for your help and your willingness to come so far to help so many. Thank you to the many CableCares volunteers, the Mission staff, and every organization that helped make last night possible. Most of all, thank you to those who donated your game meat. I know it is something you work very hard for and people were able to eat because of your generosity. 

I commend those who give of themselves each and every day. To those who help promote the sport of hunting, use your voice and keep it up because people are listening.