“Mr. Jimmy, this is the BEST day ever!!  Can you help me not die?”  These words were spoken by a 5-year-old girl that had been recently diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG). It was a warm and sunny day in June of 2018 that forever changed Jimmy’s life, he realized his purpose in life, and JMB Fishing Foundation was born.

Since receiving our 501 (c) (3) designation in September 2019, we have shared our mission and love of the outdoors with well over eight hundred children that struggle from a range of physical and intellectual disabilities to children that were battling cancer. These adventures have taken us to Colorado, up to Wisconsin, over to Louisiana and several points in between, as well as using our local regional resources. Some people may see these trips as just hunting or fishing adventures; however, often these trips help parents of the children that we are representing to recognize that their child is capable of so much more than even they expected. They have witnessed their child harvest their first deer when they did not think they could sit in a blind and shoot a rifle. They have observed their child catch their first fish after thinking they would not enjoy a few hours on a boat, and they have watched their child play with other children in an outdoor setting without being judged or being seen as different. Additionally, these adventures allow an outlet for parents to network and confide in other parents that have gone through or are currently going through similar situations to their own.

With our increased exposure and more families reaching out to us daily, our mission is growing rapidly, and we have concluded that many more children are needing the experience that we provide. Did you realize that our expense to take a family of four fishing on a local body of water is approximately $250 and we run upwards of sixty trips annually as a foundation? Additionally, for a child that requires more space in a boat (that we cannot personally provide) a single trip will cost $400, and we host approximately ten of these trips annually. Although these fishing adventures require a sizable operating budget. Our largest one-time expense would be a large pontoon boat that would accommodate multiple children plus their families. Our fall/winter activities also carry a hefty operating budget. Our goal is to provide any special child that wants to experience hunting, the ability to do so (despite any physical hindrances they may have), and to possess the equipment they would require. Many of our children are physically or visually impaired; therefore, the need for specialized adaptive equipment is a requirement.

Despite having periodic financial support in our brief time of existence, a great deal of the expense to host these events and allow families these unique experiences fall on our board members. We are currently seeking to raise $60,000 during this fundraising campaign and a total of $100,000 by the end of 2024 to purchase the equipment necessary to continue our mission. A few examples of how your generosity would be spent: the purchase of a large pontoon boat, adaptive fishing equipment, all required adaptive hunting equipment (such as two shooting devices that a quadriplegic hunter would use; rifle scopes that utilize large LED screens for crosshair alignments; large, enclosed deer blinds mounted on trailers for ease of setup and transportation), and general operating expenses.  Our ultimate goal is to have a long-term lease on a JMB Fishing Foundation retreat center.  Ideally this corporate lease place would be able to house 30 people, have plenty of land for scouting and UTV adventures, have a large pond or small lake for shore fishing and kayaking, and enough land available for hunting opportunities. We would like the ability to use this retreat center as a get-away location for families that are needing to unplug from their reality and escape to the outdoors as well as host large outdoor functions.

We would be grateful if you would consider partnering with us and helping us financially carry our mission forward.