Sportsman’s sale to benefit youth, conservation

Have a nice set of waders you can’t fit into any more?

Need another set of waders, but cant’ afford current prices?

Either way, Mike Christensen thinks he has a deal for you. On Sept. 9 his Pass It On Outdoor Mentors program will be holding the Sportsman’s Garage Sale event in Wichita. Local chapters of Pheasants Forever, Quail Forever, Safari Club International and the National Wild Turkey Federation are some of several conservation groups assisting in the sale of donated items. Much of the funding will go t Pass It On, which sponsors outdoors events across Kansas for about 1,200 kids annually. For many, it’s their first time hunting, fishing, or target shooting.

Christensen got the idea for the sale when Richard Waite, a local sportsman, called and said he was headed to the Pass It On office, in the Sedgwick County Big Brothers Big Sisters office at Second and Broadway, with gear he no longer needed.

“Richard brought a Suburban stuffed to the gills,” said Christensen. “A lot of it is some pretty nice stuff. I’m pretty excited because I know there has to be a lot of other hunters and fishermen with closets full of stuff they don’t need and can donate. From what I’m hearing so far, it’ll be a heck of a place for somebody needing to pick up some good deals on good equipment.”

Christensen is accepting donations at the Big Brothers Big Sisters office, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. He plans on having some Saturday drop-off times in the future, but hasn’t decided when.

Conservation groups will be collecting donated items from members, and bringing them to the September sale. They can sell those items from booths at the sale at the 4-H Extension office, at 21st and Ridge. Groups will have booths to help promote their programs and will probably split the proceeds with Pass It On.

“Anything we can do to help Mike, and his programs, is worth doing as far as we’re concerned,” said Kevin Steckley, Chisholm Trail Chapter of Safari Club International. “We like to support anything that’s going to make more young people aware of the outdoors, and encourage them to be active in the outdoors.”

Pass It On was formed in 2006,as an off-shoot of Sedgwick County Big Brothers Big Sisters. The Sedgwick County chapter was the first Big Brothers Big Sisters program, in the nation, to openly embrace hunting and target shooting as a viable activity for enrolled youth.

Christensen predicted some of the proceeds from the sale will go to help support programs that give new hunter education graduates a taste of Kansas bird hunting, under tightly controlled conditions. The programs include shotgun shooting instruction, a chance to follow quality bird dogs and opportunity to shoot at released pheasants.

“We’re really excited to start working with some high school trap teams as well as others,” said Christensen. “We want to help those kinds of kids learn how to take the next step and go afield and learn how to do a little hunting.”

How much money he’ll gain for those programs, depends a lot on how much gear is donated to the sale. Steckley is confident his club members will contribute.

“Everybody has stuff in their closet they don’t use any more. Maybe it doesn’t fit or maybe it’s something they’re just willing to part with for a good cause,” he said. “If nothing else, getting rid of some things is a perfect excuse to go buy some new stuff.”

For more information, call 316-290-8883 or go to outdoormentors.org, and click on events.

This story was originally published July 7, 2017 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Sportsman’s sale to benefit youth, conservation."