-Peggy Boren, Orange County Chapter
Civic Initiatives
Civic work remains a priority among SCI members and the chapters to which many belong. This is done primarily through Safari Club International Foundation (SCIF).
Sportsmen Against Hunger™: Since 1989, thousand of volunteer members and friends have provided tens of millions of meals in an effort to meet food banks’ need for low fat, low cholesterol, preservative-free, high-protein meat.
SafariCare™: Hunters going to remote regions of the world are provided SafariCare™ blue bags to be filled with medical, school, and relief supplies that are delivered directly to clinics, schools, villages, and orphanages.
Education Initiatives
Members of SCI often work in conjunction with the Safari Club International Foundation’s Education programs and initiatives. This is often done through Education Sables, an SCI membership group that oversees all SCI Foundation education programs and raise funds to give financial support to their programs, who are dedicated to continuing our hunting heritage through education programs. All money raised by Education Sables is dedicated to SCIF education programs.
The strategic mission of SCI Foundation Education Sables programs is to further the understanding of our outdoor heritage, including the positive role of hunting, through the creation and support of wildlife and conservation education programs. These programs are:
American Wilderness Leadership School (AWLS): Located in the Granite Creek-Jackson, Wyoming, area AWLS offers educator professional development workshops that renew enthusiasm for teaching through conservation education and shooting sports activities. Educators learn to integrate conservation lessons into classroom and outdoor teaching environments while meeting state and national curriculum standards and making teaching and learning fun. In addition, it offers a workshop for high school students interested in learning about conservation as well as leadership skills.
Youth Program Support: SCIF Education provides financial support for conservation and shooting sports activities within the SCI Chapter network and to like-minded youth development organizations. The SCIF/Salvation Army Outdoors partnership is expanding into more states developing conservation and shooting sports activities for youth in Salvation Army camps and community facilities.
Hands On Wildlife Kit (HOW): HOW is an instructional tool for teaching about conservation through hands-on activities. The kit contains the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation curriculum and materials, pelts, track, scat and skull replicas as well as field guides. Kits can be purchased through SCIF Education.
College Scholarships: Education Sables have five endowed Hunting Heritage Scholarships at the following universities: Unity College – Maine, U of Idaho, U of Montana, West Virginia University and Texas A &M – Kingsville. In addition, SCIF directly awards two-year upper level and four-year undergraduate scholarships to students majoring in a conservation related field.
Sensory Safari: SCI Chapters throughout the U.S. build sensory safari trailers and exhibits from donated collections of animal mounts, skins, skulls, horns, and antlers. SCI volunteers escort children through a maze of touch displays while describing the animal’s size, sounds, and habitats.