The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is implementing some changes in how the organization conducts background checks on participating volunteers. Individuals registering with the SSSF as a volunteer (i.e., head coach, assistant coach, or other adult volunteer) must now conduct a secure background check that includes local county checks for a seven-year address history.
In the past, SSSF has conducted checks only with the National Criminal Database (NCD). However, due to the variability of information across states, the NCD may or may not reveal all pertinent criminal history concerning eligibility of a volunteer. Thus, the new county-level background check will be used in addition to the national check.
With the changes in screening comes a price increase. Starting December 12, 2014 volunteers will be required to pay a portion of the cost directly to our background check provider, Intellicorp, when they submit to a check. Volunteer fees paid to SSSF will remain at $30. SSSF volunteer registration is not considered complete until background checks are completed.
The SSSF wants to ensure it upholds the highest standards in youth protection on behalf of its programs and young athletes. The SSSF also must ensure that all of its volunteers are screened with the same level of background check, regardless of their state of residence or past residence history.
Amazon isn’t just a seller of books and music any more; it’s the world’s largest online retailer and a source to purchase an endless array of items. Now, when you’re making a purchase from Amazon, you can support the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation as well. Amazon will donate 0.5% of your purchase price on eligible purchases to SSSF when you designate us as your charitable organization of choice and access the site through a special URL, smile.amazon.com.
The donation costs you nothing; Amazon makes the contribution through its AmazonSmile program.
If you are an Amazon Prime member, don’t worry; logging in through smile.amazon.com will not affect your benefits or your access to Prime links. AmazonSmile is the same Amazon you are accustomed to.
The first time you use AmazonSmile, you’ll have the opportunity to choose the charity you wish to support. If SSSF doesn’t appear in the list of choices offered, just type in “SSSF” and the name comes up for you to click on.
To help you remember to use the AmazonSmile link, Amazon offers an optional toolbar button, as well as a Chrome extension called Smile Always that automatically routes you to the right place. Or, just enter it when you wish.
Even if you are making a small purchase, remember that many small purchases from our supporters add up! Every amount supports the SSSF mission and is appreciated.
When you need to contact the SSSF staff, we want to give you the help you need as efficiently as possible. We know that no one likes being passed from person to person in search of a simple answer.
To help you get to the right person the first time, please follow these guidelines:
Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP)
For any program-related issues regarding SCTP, such as:
Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation made contributions of over $1 million this week to the MidwayUSA Foundation, Inc. accounts of 182 SCTP and SPP teams from 36 different states. The teams earned the endowment funds at recent national, regional, and state events.
This week’s total donation was $1,045,125. SCTP team accounts received $905,000 of that, which includes team earnings at the National Team Championships, regional events, and state shoots during the second and third quarters of 2014.
SPP teams received $133,100, which included earnings from its National Junior/Senior Championships and recent state matches.
“Through our broad membership base, we are fortunate to be able to support so many teams across the country,” commented Ben Berka, SSSF President and Executive Director. “These donations will help provide a perpetual funding source for local Scholastic Clay Target and Scholastic Pistol Programs. The funding we provide to team endowment accounts is another way for us to thank all of the teams, coaches, and athletes for their participation and excellent performance in SCTP and SPP events!”
In addition, $7,025 was donated via internally generated endowment money through SSSF and SCTP fundraisers. These funds will be matched by Larry and Brenda Potterfield of MidwayUSA. “By providing teams with fundraising tools at the local level, we are able to help contribute to team endowment accounts. At the same time, teams have the ability to raise operating money and awareness about their programs in the local community. The SSSF looks forward to providing more of these opportunities in the future to our SCTP and SPP member teams,” said Berka.
The donations bring SSSF’s contributions to $1,461,175 to date in 2014. SSSF expects its annual contributions to total more than $1.7 million by the end of 2014.
SCTP and SPP teams are awarded endowment funds through participation in sanctioned shoots. SSSF contributes the funding to the MidwayUSA Foundation Team Endowment Account Program on behalf of the teams. The purpose of the endowment program is to provide sustained financial support for youth shooting teams. Teams with an endowment account are able to draw a grant each year to use for team expenses.
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF) and Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever (PF/QF) have signed an agreement to partner on programs to introduce youth to shooting sports, hunting, wildlife conservation, and other outdoor experiences. SSSF and PF/QF will work together to develop new outreach programs, promote each other’s missions, and host joint introductions to shooting/outdoor events.
Ben Berka, left, and John Linquist sign a memorandum of understanding between SSSF and PF/QFThe partnership focuses on strengthening the link between shooting and conservation, as SSSF and PF/QF will work together to educate and engage today’s youth to ensure a future of avid hunters and passionate conservationists.
Both organizations recognize that today’s youth are the next generation of outdoor leaders and conservationists. “Youth are making dedicated sport choices at a very young age these days,” explained Ben Berka, President and Executive Director of SSSF. “If we can make that choice a shooting sport, we can begin to influence the future of recreational choices for kids and families.
“By operating through the proven model of organized youth sports, SSSF has the ability to recruit many urban and suburban youth who have very little awareness about wildlife conservation or the outdoors in general,” Berka continued. “Also, youth shooting sports have structure, social interaction, and trusted adult leadership — things that are attractive to busy families.”
The memorandum of understanding between the two organizations came about through the efforts of Tom Wondrash, National Director of the SSSF’s Scholastic Clay Target Program (SCTP) and John Linquist, National Shooting Sports Coordinator for PF/QF, who recognized the compatible goals of the two groups. Initially, the two men partnered informally by pairing SCTP teams with local PF/QF chapters. Later, SCTP teams were the catalysts for forming new PF/QF chapters in areas where there were none.
“Our mission is to get youth involved in shooting sports at an early age through team competition and to encourage their continued involvement when they graduate from our program,” said Wondrash. “Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever is an ideal partner to further our members’ interest and participation in the shooting sports as they reach adulthood, as well as enjoy these activities with their entire family.”
For PF/QF, promoting shooting sports is an important aspect of the No Child Left Indoors® initiative, which includes the FOREVER Shooting Sports Program. “We look at this partnership as a way to groom future leaders who care about the legacy we are leaving and who will pass on our love for the outdoors. In turn, that connection to the land through hunting will foster a conservation ethic,” added PF/QF’s Linquist. “We look forward to expanding participation at youth events nationally through this partnership.”
Pheasants Forever, including its quail conservation division, Quail Forever, is the nation’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to upland habitat conservation. Pheasants Forever and Quail Forever have more than 140,000 members and 745 local chapters across the United States and Canada. For more information about becoming involved with Pheasants Forever/Quail Forever, contact John Linquist at 712-754-3221, jlinquist@pheasantsforever.org, or visit pheasantsforever.org.
Larry and Brenda Potterfield recently donated over $1.7 million to the Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation to further our role in growing youth shooting through the Scholastic Clay Target Program and the Scholastic Pistol Program.
“Brenda and I are delighted to support an organization that utilizes scholastic shooting programs to help develop today’s youth,” said Larry Potterfield, Founder and CEO of MidwayUSA. “As leaders, we all have an opportunity to change the future; we’re investing in tomorrow’s leaders, America’s future decision makers.”
Larry and Brenda were recently named Founding Life Diamond Members of the Champion’s Roundtable, which recognizes donors who have made major contributions to the SSSF mission. They are also Charter Members of the SSSF Legacy Society, which honors donors who have included SSSF in their estate plans through deferred gifts.
“The generous support provided to the SSSF by Larry and Brenda is vital to the growth and expansion of our Scholastic Clay Target and Scholastic Pistol Programs. This donation will help us extend our reach to get more kids pulling triggers and also support local SCTP and SPP team endowment accounts to fund teams well into the future,” said Ben Berka, President and Executive Director of the SSSF.
About MidwayUSA Both country kids from Missouri, Larry and Brenda Potterfield turned their passion for shooting sports into a career by opening a small gun shop in 1977 that would eventually become MidwayUSA. They instilled family values like honesty, integrity, and respect for others into the business, and strive to maintain this culture with each employee added to their growing team. For over 37 years, MidwayUSA has offered JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING® for shooting, reloading, gunsmithing, and hunting with an unyielding focus on customer satisfaction.
Effective immediately, Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is relocating home-office administration and financial operations from the current Maumee, Ohio office to the National Shooting Complex in San Antonio, Texas.
Plans for the move were originally announced in March, with a long time-frame for the move to allow for new staff to be hired and trained and to ensure there was no interruption of services to our program participants.
“As the Headquarters of the National Skeet Shooting Association and National Sporting Clays Association, the National Shooting Complex is a natural choice to house the SSSF’s operations,” said Louise Terry, Chairperson of the SSSF Board of Directors. “Since we are the largest feeder program for youth shooters to NSSA-NSCA, we envision this as a win-win relationship.”
Ben Berka, SSSF President and Executive Director, added, “We are pleased to call the National Shooting Complex home for our headquarters operations. Housing our key administrative and financial operations alongside an established and mature shooting sports organization such as the NSSA-NSCA will help us grow and give our home office perpetuity into the future.”
For most of your contacts with SCTP and SPP, nothing has changed. For program-specific requests, continue to contact the program staff as in the past. Contact for all of those staff members remains unchanged. Only for those reasons you might have contacted the Maumee, Ohio home office in the past will you now need to contact us in San Antonio.
You can find contact information for our home office and each program on every page of our website. Just scroll down the page, and you’ll find those contacts on the lower right side.
Our new home office contact information is:
SSSF 5931 Roft Road San Antonio, TX 78253 210-448-8946
The Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation (SSSF), the not-for-profit organization that powers the Scholastic Clay Target Program and Scholastic Pistol Program, has launched a new fundraising initiative for 2014-2015 to fuel the foundation’s mission.
The fundraising effort will offer four different ways for supporters to participate: the SSSF Annual Fund, the Champion’s Roundtable for major gifts, Scholarship and Operating Endowment Funds for designated donations, and the Legacy Society for donors who wish to include SSSF in their estate plans.
Larry and Brenda PotterfifeldAs part of this initiative, SSSF is proud to announce that Larry and Brenda Potterfield, founders of MidwayUSA, have been named “Founding Life Diamond Members” of the Champion’s Roundtable, which recognizes donors who have made major contributions to our mission.
“Our Foundation is blessed to have strong leadership support from Larry and Brenda, whose generosity has allowed us to significantly grow our programs,” said Louise K. Terry, Chairperson of the SSSF Board of Directors. “We hope there are many other supporters who will find a level of giving that suits their circumstances and will join Larry, Brenda, and the SSSF Board members to ensure the future of our great programs.”
Larry and Brenda are also Charter Members of the SSSF Legacy Society, which honors our donors who have included SSSF in their estate plans through deferred gifts.
“We invite other donors to follow the leadership of Larry and Brenda and join them in support of our mission to develop the leaders of tomorrow who will perpetuate the future of youth shooting and be good stewards of our Second Amendment rights,” said Dan Hathaway, Director of Foundation Development.
Click on the Donate page to learn more about how your gift can help SSSF stay on target. Your current gift may be completed online. To learn more about making a planned gift, contact Ben Berka, President & Executive Director, at donate@sssfonline.com, or 515-201-8395.
Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation is pleased to announce the 2014 recipients in our SSSF Scholarship Program. Forty-two SCTP and SPP student athletes will each receive a $1000 scholarship.
Athletes who graduated from high school in 2014 and will enroll in college this year were eligible to apply for the scholarships. Awards are based on SCTP/SPP participation, academics, need, and other factors.
The scholarships are being funded by generous sponsors who support our youth shooting programs, as well as supporters who raise funds through national banquets. For the SCTP scholarships, Beretta USA donated $10,000 to provide 10 scholarships, and the National Skeet Shooting Association and National Sporting Clays Association (NSSA-NSCA) contributed another $10,000 for 10 awards. SCTP National Fundraising Banquets provided $15,000 for 15 of the scholarships. NRA funded a $1000 special scholarship and will present two more $1000 scholarships to winners of the “Last Competitor Standing” competitions at the upcoming National Team Championships.
Of the six scholarships being awarded to SPP athletes, five are being funded by a donation from Smith & Wesson, while another is being funded by a $1000 donation from HiViz Shooting Systems.
Congratulations to the following 2014 scholarship recipients:
Registration is now open for next month’s SCTP National Team Championships, and if the first day of registration is any indication, it is sure to be a record-shattering event.
During the first 24 hours that teams could register for the National Championships, more than 627 student athletes were signed up for SCTP events, representing 40 teams from 15 states. Almost 1000 event registrations were completed during the first day.
The event will be held July 14-19 at the World Shooting and Recreational Complex in Sparta, IL. In addition, SCTP will host shooters at our National Championships for international events on July 25-29 in Colorado Springs, CO.
As in previous years, SCTP teams will compete in Skeet, Trap, and Sporting Clays during the weeklong event. For this year’s Nationals, teams can also compete in Doubles Trap, Handicap Trap, and Skeet Doubles events. A new College Open category will allow college students to compete at the National Championships with their former high school teams.
Sharing the spotlight with the Scholastic Clay Target Program during Nationals will be the Scholastic Pistol Program (SPP), concurrently holding its second Junior/Senior National Championships.
The two programs will award $713,000 in endowment funds to competing teams at our national events, representing $450,000 to SCTP teams at the Sparta tournament; $156,000 at SCTP’s National Championships for international events; and $107,000 to SPP teams at Nationals. Scholastic Shooting Sports Foundation will donate the endowment funds to team accounts at the MidwayUSA Foundation, Inc.
In addition to a week of shooting competition, other activities are planned to benefit our student athletes, including College Recruiting Day to provide recruiting opportunities to colleges with shooting teams, and Youth Conservation Day, when athletes will learn about various conservation organizations and opportunities for involvement.
“We’re off to a tremendous start with registrations for our National Championships, and we’re expecting another record year, following a record 2000-plus shooters in 2013,” said Tom Wondrash, SCTP National Director. “The SCTP staff and our dedicated sponsors work on this event year-round to ensure it is the nation’s premier youth shooting competition. With its wide range of shooting events and activities, abundant endowment funds the teams can earn, and opportunities for teams to compete against the nation’s best, we’re confident this is an event without equal.”
SCTP head coaches can log in to their accounts at www.sssfonline.org to register.
