Delta Waterfowl Grant Takes Children in Need Under its Wing

For more than 128 years, Palmer Home for Children has provided restorative foster care environments where children feel safe, connected, and supported. 

Thanks to a generous donation from Delta Waterfowl, children and teens served through Palmer Home will now have an opportunity to enjoy hunting and outdoor activities as part of an outdoor recreational therapy program.

Palmer Home offers holistic care to each child based on their unique physical, emotional, spiritual and educational needs regardless of race, gender or background in accordance with our Whole Child Initiative. From academic support and medical care to clinical needs and recreational therapy, Palmer Home’s revolutionary approach to care supports every aspect of a child’s growth and development.

The heart of Whole Child is to offer healthy, relational experiences for children, providing opportunities to learn important social and emotional skills with safe, supportive adults.

In Full Flight: Thriving in the Midst of the Unknown

In recent years, numerous studies have highlighted the importance of play and rest in the role of healing for children with adverse childhood experiences as well as those who have experienced trauma. 

Along with an opportunity to “just be a kid,” play provides a chance for a child in need to learn or implement important life and social skills, to build self-confidence, learn how to connect with and communicate with others, and how to experience a deep sense of happiness and joy.

“For children who have experienced loss or harm in past relationships, safe, playful experiences like hunting, fishing, and other outdoor activities can be truly reparative,” says Whole Child Director Lauren Strickland. “Experiences like these restore hope that time with adults can be rewarding and that trustworthy adults can be a source of encouragement and support. Relational experiences that combine learning and play are powerful because they do just that.”

Birds of a Feather

For more than 100 years, Delta Waterfowl has served as a nonprofit organization committed to preserving duck habitats and enhancing duck hunting opportunities in North America. 

Delta Waterfowl’s Duck Hunters Organization serves as a leading conservation group dedicated to preserving duck populations through intensive conservation, management, and breeding programs throughout Canada and the United States. In partnership with federal and private conservation groups,  Delta also conducts vital research to help protect historic marshlands.

“Programs like Hope Outdoors provide our kids with the opportunity to learn gun safety education and prepare for waterfowl and sporting clay activities which can positively impact their lives by giving them a chance to enjoy the emotional, social, healing benefits of nature and outdoor sports,” says Palmer Home Vice President of Development Jessica Corley.

Along with hunter education certification and the chance to participate in a sporting clays tournament, the grant also provides outdoor and hunting apparel and educational programming on conservation and gun safety for children and teens at Palmer Home.

“Palmer Home is grateful to partner with an organization committed to preserving the sanctity of natural habitats to help provide an opportunity for the children and teens we serve to engage in unique outdoor experiences,” says Palmer Home CEO & President Drake Bassett.“

Partner with Palmer

Palmer Home seeks to provide opportunities for organizations to partner with our team to provide unique experiences for children and teens in foster care programs throughout the Southeast United States. If you’re interested in learning more about how to create a unique experience for a child in need while promoting your brand’s cause or mission, please contact our development team at development@palmerhome.org.

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