Hunt of a lifetime-Idaho, a local non-profit, helps kids with life-threatening illnesses and disabilities, hunting and fishing dreams come true.
Jack Floyd was one of those kids who got to go on his dream moose hunt in November.
“It was a really special trip. We spent about six months in the hospital last year, and Jack, before he got out of the hospital, he knew he was accepted for this hunt," said Matt Floyd, Jack's father. "So that really helped him for the last month or two of his hospitalization that he had something to look forward to.”
Almost a year after Jack recovered from the hospital, he spent a week out in Idaho's mountains hunting for moose with volunteers with Hunt of a Lifetime.
“It was really good because COVID was there, and we couldn’t really get out of the house or go anywhere, so being able to go on a moose hunt was really fun and helpful,” said Jack.
This trip was made possible by Hunt of a Lifetime. Nationally this year, they made 46 children's dreams come true, including three here in Idaho.
“It is just overwhelming to see what these kids go through on a normal daily basis, and then you get them out there, and it is the one week of the last two to three years of their lives that they actually get to be normal," said Blaine Bergin, Hunt of a Lifetime-Idaho Ambassador. "You know they get to be a kid again.”
Something many families don't know is possible after spending so much time in hospitals and at doctor's appointments.
“A lot of people say, 'You can't take a kid out there and sleep in tents and hunt in that area,' and why not? Our thing is to show them what they can do," said Bergin. "Their whole lives they have been told 'You can't do this. You can't do that,' and we get them out there in a tent with a stove and fire to keep them warm and are like, 'OK, we are going to get to the top of the mountain,' and they say 'We can't get up there.' But like, why not? If it takes us all day, we are going."
They help kids with cancer, muscular dystrophy, childhood diabetes, and anything considered life-threatening.
“To be able to give Jack that ability to have the sense of accomplishment, it was really special," said Matt. "It honestly provided a lot of meat for our family, and it will feed our family for a long time.”
Hunt of a Lifetime is getting Jack's moose taxidermied, so he can mount it in his house or maybe even his bedroom.
"If it will fit, haha," he said. "I just really appreciate Hunt of a Lifetime and that they are doing this for kids. It really gives us something to look forward to when we are in the hospital."
The non-profit is run completely off donations and volunteers.
If you would like to help or know a child who dreams of going on their dream hunting or fishing trip, click here.
You can also follow Hunt of a Lifetime's Idaho Facebook page here.
