24 Wednesday, October 14, 2015 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Cash donations critical for veteran charity Veterans: Nonprofit takes disabled into field and stream Continued from page 1 stepped up,” Miller told The Nugget. “They’ve given basi- cally a $3,000-a-year product grant.” That grant covered a 15-by-27-foot outfitter’s tent. That’s important because it “enables all the veterans to be under one roof during hunting season instead of having to provide their own tent,” Miller explained. Local donors have also stepped up. H o y t ’s H a r d w a r e & Building Supply is providing the lumber to finish off the tent setup, and Sisters Ace Hardware donated cookware and tent carpet. Robinson & Owen Heavy Construction offered up a Honda genera- tor; Takoda’s will provide pizza; Three Creeks Brewing Co. will provide beverages and Cork Cellars will provide wine. Hop n Brew donated cof- fee and the Sisters Area Chamber of Commerce and Sisters’ Shell station donated fuel cards. Warfighter Outfitters is all about veterans helping other veterans. The organization has an all-veteran board, and Many outfits, from national chains to Sisters Country businesses, have stepped up in a big way to support Warfighter Outfitters with in-kind donations. Those donations have help make a major elk-hunt- ing trip for disabled veter- ans happen this month (see story, page 1). But cash donations remain critical to getting veterans out on the water or into the woods. And a little bit goes a long way. According to Warfighter Outfitters president Brett Miller, it costs about $150 per day to send a group of four veterans down one of the region’s rivers for a fishing trip. So a relatively modest donation can do a lot. Miller told The Nugget that he’s got steelhead trips booked in coming months but doesn’t have the cash to fund them, so donations are needed. S i n c e Wa r f i g h t e r Outfitters is a completely volunteer nonprofit, dona- tions go directly to serving the injured veterans. “Every single cent of that money goes to operations,” Miller said. There is a PayPal button on the website at www.war fighteroutfitters.org, or you can make a donation at U.S. Bank in Sisters. For more information email warfighteroutfitters@ gmail.com. for Warfighter Outfitters’ Jeep, which will allow Miller to take wheelchair-bound veterans ice-fishing and out for spring bear-hunting. For an in-depth look at the work of Warfighter Outfitters, go to Youtube and search for the 15-min- ute documentary video “Warfighter Outfitters — Goin’ Down the Madison.” For more information visit www.warfighteroutfitters. org and www.facebook.com/ warfighteroutfitters. To inquire about donat- ing or volunteering for camp cooking duty email warfighter outfitters@gmail.com. By Jim Cornelius News Editor photo by Jerry Baldock Brett Miller was at the Sisters Harvest Faire to take donations for the veterans charity he leads. Miller himself is a wounded Iraq War veteran. Veterans who have suffered serious injuries — some of them dis- abling — and post-traumatic stress benefit greatly from getting out on the water to fish and into the woods for some hunting. Warfighter Outfitters has developed equipment and protocols to mitigate disabili- ties to get veterans out doing what they love. The idea is to get them to where they can pursue their hunting on their own. “The guys just love being outside, being in a hunting camp,” Miller said. “It feels like an operation to them.” The camaraderie of a hunting camp or a drift boat trip is therapeutic. Veterans feel comfortable among others who have had simi- lar experiences and faced similar dangers and diffi- culties — and they tend to open up. “Half that magic happens around the poker table or the campfire,” Miller says. For that reason, Miller seeks to keep the experience “as all-veteran as possible.” Miller also told The Nugget that an anonymous donor from the East Coast paid for a set of truck tracks Prevent a Litter, Fix Your Critter! FURRY FRIEND S FOUNDATION 501 ( c )( 3 ) www.furryfriendsfoundation.org 541-549-9941 501(c)(3) nonprofi t organization Spay/Neuter Sponsorships - Easy as 1-2-3 1 Stop by The Nugget offi ce to fi ll out a short form 2 Call Bend Spay & Neuter for the appointment 3 Take your pet — Furry Friends pays. Done!