Are you a Combat Veteran? Join Mission Outdoors today.

Our Mission

Our Mission

We believe hope grows outdoors. On the water. On a hunt. On the slopes. On a trail. But we’re about more than just fishing and hunting — those are on the gateway. We’re about connecting and building relationships and trust with our veterans, helping them to get engaged in their community, to discover the immense value of their lives, and showing them there is hope.

Our Commitment

Mission Outdoors  is committed to serve the ones who served for us. Our focus is on the camaraderie and community with like minded individuals. We find it just as important for our veterans and active duty to not financially worry for these events and opportunities.

Our Goal

It’s about giving vets a purpose and something to look forward to. It’s about helping them see that it’s not all about what they’re dealing with today, but about looking forward to tomorrow.

Our Founding Story

Seven years ago, I received what turned out to be a fateful phone call. A dear friend on the other end of the line said simply: “Will you bring your boat? We’re short on boats for veterans to fish.” The rest, as the cliché goes, is history. On that fateful trip, I met Josh, a veteran suffering from PTSD. Josh was there with his dad, who pulled me aside on the first day before we headed out to fish. “Josh is angry, but I’m here, and he’ll be okay.” I was nervous, but something in this proud dad’s voice made me trust him. On that first day on the water, we must have caught 30 tuna. What started out as a group of stone-faced men became a community. 

All afternoon and into the evening, the talking increased. Laughter filled the boat. And I’ll never forget the moment I looked up from the water to see something I would have told you was impossible that morning: Josh was laughing too. His dad told me that night back on land: “Josh used to work as my deckhand back home in San Diego. We all called him Happy Josh because he laughed so much. This is the first time I’ve seen Happy Josh in a long time.”

Mission Outdoors doesn’t just mean that we’re going fishing. We’re here to lure guys outside, get them connected with a group of people who care about them, and get them re-engaged in their own communities filled with something too many of our American heroes haven’t felt for a long time: Hope.

I hope you’ll take a minute today to consider partnering with Mission Outdoors to help even more veterans like Josh and his day. You can volunteer for an upcoming event, tell a veteran you know about Mission Outdoors, or consider a financial contribution so that we can offer more experiences to more veterans.

 

Ryan Elwell, President & CEO

The Challenges

Everyday there is a veteran who needs the support of his or her community

Wont you will take a minute today to consider partnering with Mission Outdoors to help veterans find hope and community?

PTSD Facts

30%
of soldiers develop mental problems within 3 to 4 months of being home
20%
of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have suffered a traumatic brain injury
20
veterans commit suicide every day
20%
of veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars have been diagnosed with PTSD
7.7
million Americans are affected by PTSD in a given year
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