What we're all about today:

(Today, we have a purpose, beyond the friendships and bonds established over the years)

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On our first Spring ride in Arizona in 2011, we learned that our hosts, Western Destinations, hosts a Cowboy Camp every summer for foster kids and seriously sick youngsters around the Phoenix area.  As in most large metro areas, thousands of kids are in situations where they wind up in foster programs, too many of them are seemingly forgotten and experience lives that most of can only imagine.  Western Destinations and now the Flying E Ranch in Wickenburg has found a way to give hundreds of those kids an opportunity to experience a aste of the Cowboy life.  Now partnering with a new charity, "Hope Kids", they offer that same opportunity to hundreds of kids and their families facing some serious, often life threatening medical conditions.  Hope Kids helps such families meet and network offering the chance support each other in unimaginable challenges in their lives.  The Wild Bunch also learned that if anyone chooses to make a donation to the local charities sending those kids to the Cowboy Camp, Western Destinations would pretty much match to donation to absorb the expenses for the efforts.  Hundreds of kids now go to Cowboy Camp every summer and many of them wind up coming back after "aging out" of the foster programs or overcoming the serious medical conditions to volunteer their time at the camp and counsel with the kids experiencing what they once did.  ​Some of us "Bunchers" started sending out a little cash to help.  

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Well, when all our friends at the Big Piney learned about our support of the foster kids out in Arizona, I found out what big hearts our "horse folks" have.  Mention foster kids (or some of those young'uns facing serious medical conditions) and also say "horses", those riders will jump in knee deep with us.  On auction day (Thursday) each year at the Big Piney, they started (with Bruce Douglas, in 2015) bringing us things to donate for the Cowboy Camp.  since then, as of October  2024, we have been able to send over $120,000 out there to get more kids though that Cowboy Camp at the Flying E Ranch in Wickenburg every summer!  So many heartfelt thank you's to 4-J, the Laughlin family, and all of those folks at the trail ride.  I had the chance to visit the Camp for a few days in 2019 and I guarantee you that some young lives are getting permanently impacted by all of you supporters.  There are even some "alumni" from past Cowboy Camps that return to volunteer their time to help out.  With all of our support, we intend to continue this for many years to come.