Savannah archer group benefits area vets
Members of the Bowmen of First Baptist Church of Savannah use their talents on the range to help raise funds for the Wounded Warrior In Action project. Harold Morgan, Mark Vincent, Rodney Cole, Darin Gragg, John Lewis, and Don Lawrence donate money for every bull’s-eye they hit.
In its second year of raising money, a men’s group at the Savannah First Baptist Church is utilizing its talents on the range to benefit the Missouri/Kansas Chapter of the Wounded Warrior In Action (WWIA).
“I attended the 2014 banquet and decided it was something that my friends and myself should support,” said Don Lawrence. “We just weren’t sure how to do it.”
The group, Bowmen of First Baptist Church of Savannah, soon came to the conclusion that it could combine its love for archery into a way to support the WWIA project.
“For the past few years, several of our church’s men’s groups have made 3-D archery tournaments into an outreach ministry,” said fellow Savannah FBC archer Harold Morgan. “We already travel together to events in Kansas, Iowa, and Missouri. We have good fellowships, good competition, and felt as though we were bringing the church with us to each event. But something was still missing.”
In 2015 the ministry took a more visible and active role for the men’s groups with the WWIA project. The group decided that for every bull’s-eye the group achieved it would donate a dollar to WWIA. The events they travel to include the Nodaho Bow Hunter’s range east of Graham.
“The idea spread when other church members found out about our commitment,” said Savannah FBC archer Steve Lewis. “It seemed that there were a significant number of people that wanted to do something for our wounded warriors, but they just didn’t know how to go about doing it. So we thought we’d provide them an avenue.”
Families, friends, and fellow church members of the men’s group now match the commitment through sponsorships.
Members of the men’s group admitted to feeling a little more pressure when they pull back and aim now.
“With all the teasing and jabbing of each other that we normally do at these events, I think we all bared down a little more because we were now shooting for a score that was going to impact more than just our egos,” archery team member Mark Vincent said.
Lawrence thought the group would raise a few hundred dollars annually for the local chapter, but the idea has blossomed into a community-wide effort beyond what he envisioned.
“God has a way of making things like that happen,” Lawrence said.
The group presented a check for $1,695 at the WWIA annual banquet held in St. Joseph in November 2015. Well into its 2016 season, the group has already raised $1,321.
“What we like about this group is that 100 percent of the money stays local to help the vets that live in our area,” Lawrence said.
He added that several of the archers from Savannah FBC will be in Graham on August 13 and 14 for the 2016 Missouri State 3-D Jamboree.
Anyone wishing to sponsor the group can contact Lawrence at [email protected].