CRAWFORD COUNTY (KFSM) -- More than $3,000 were raised Saturday (Sept. 12) at the Old Fort Gun Club for a local organization that helps foster children.
About 100 people shot in the competition, and all the registration money went to “The Call.”
“It's great -- we need all the support we can get,” Chris Wear said.
Wear is a volunteer with “The Call,” a group that works with churches and the Department of Human Services to help families in Sebastian and Crawford counties.
"We recruit them, we train them with DHS, then we provide support to them as they're fostering children or through the adoption process,” Wear said.
Wear said all of the organization's funding comes from donations, and Saturday’s match will make a difference.
“We’re in crisis mode. There are times when we have kids sleeping on the floor at the DHS office,” Wear said.
“This is a worthy cause,” Old Fort Gun Club member Loren Pendergrass said.
Pendergrass usually competes in the matches at the gun club, but said he was focused on the new shooters on Saturday, many of which were kids.
“Today was all about volunteering and helping new shooters… I've already had some seven and eight year-olds today. It’s just neat to see them get out here for their first time and shoot a firearm,” Pendergrass said.
The gun club said it plans to hold a charity match again next year.
According to The Call, more than 600 abused or neglected children are in the foster care systems of Crawford and Sebastian counties at any given time.
