MWF funds BSA program to encourage more women in hunting and the shooting sports

Published on May 19, 2016

l-r Ryan, Scott Bohannon presents Dylan Hendrickson BSA District Director with check for Venturing shooting program with, David Bundesen, Venture President Ellie

Mzuri Wildlife Foundation Treasurer, Scott Bohannon presents a check for $7,500 to San Francisco Bay Area Council Boy Scouts of America (SFBAC) to focus on attracting new girls to the shooting sports in the San Francisco Bay Area.

This new initiative was the brainchild of SFBAC Director of Field Services Joe Barton and MWF’s Executive Director, David Bundesen. Both understood the need to get more girls involved in the shooting sports. Joe knew just the program that could help make that a reality. It is called Venturing.

BSA Venturing

Venturing is a youth development program of the Boy Scouts of America for young men and women who are 14 years of age OR 13 years of age and have completed the eighth grade and under 21 years of age.

Venturing’s purpose is to provide positive experiences to help young people mature and to prepare them to become responsible and caring adults, with an emphasis in adventure, leadership, personal growth, and service.

Project Goals

This project will seek to:

To increase the number of youth served in the Venturing fields of hunting and shooting sports throughout the Council boundaries. (San Francisco County & Alameda County) with a goal of serving 150 youth by the end of 2016.
To dramatically increase the number of female participants served within our Venturing shooting sports program. Encouraging a participant ratio of 60% female to 40% male as a minimum.
To increase the Council’s Hunting and Shooting Sports education footprint by serving at least 5 Venturing Crews by the end of 2016.

The Next Generation of women shooters

This is Ellie, President of Venturer Crew 186 and Vice President of SFBAC Venturing Officers Association.

She is an avid shooter and a role model to her peers. She shoots rifle, pistol and shotgun and loves it. She will be encouraging more young women to join her in the shooting sports.

Shooting Sports Excellence Award

Will one of the new shooters win this Shooting Sports Excellence Award? That we don’t know.

While working on the Ranger Shooting Sports elective, Venturers are required to complete one of the following disciplines: air pistol, air rifle, archery, muzzleloading rifle, shotgun, pistol, or small-bore rifle. However, Venturers who go beyond the basic requirement and complete five of the seven disciplines will earn the Venturing Shooting Sports Outstanding Achievement Award.

This beautiful medal and certificate are sponsored by many companies and organizations in the shooting sports industry to recognize outstanding achievement in shooting sports.

Thanks to generous Mzuri Donors

Thanks to the generosity of Mzuri Wildlife Foundation donors, this $7,500 grant will fund the SFBAC Venturing Girls shooting program. Its goals include increasing the number of girls exposed to the shooting sports in the San Francisco urban area.

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