Clays for kids

A simple meal delivery changed Clint Walker’s life.

Walker, past president of the Rotary Club of Bigfork, was part of a club service project in December to deliver Christmas dinner to families in need.

He was struck by the extent of the need and the contrast between those families and his own. Walker’s children woke up to cupboards full of a cornucopia of breakfast choices. One child who received Christmas dinner asked her mother hopefully whether the box contained any milk.

“When I think about the people that I interfaced with, the children I saw, the conditions, I still cry about it,” said Walker, who shared the story of those Christmas deliveries in the spring 2011 editor’s note of his magazine, Flathead Living.

Those memories were heavy on his heart when a friend directed him to a “60 Minutes” report on child poverty. Watching the segment, Walker realized the problems he’d witnessed at Christmas were nationwide.

“That’s when I decided we’ve really got to do something about this,” he said.

Rather than relying on fundraising standbys such as auctions, dinners and golf tournaments, Walker and others in the Flathead have created a fundraiser from one of their favorite hobbies, sport shooting. Clays for Kids is dedicated to raising money to “create and further enable existing nonprofit organizations to help meet the needs of our children,” according to the group’s website.

The organization, which is partnered with the Kalispell Rotary Community Foundation, is hosting a charity event next Saturday in Polson. Teams will compete in a clay shooting competition, a world-renowned exhibition shooter will put on a show and local nonprofits will be on hand to present information about the work they are doing in the community.

Clays for Kids is intended to raise money for groups that are already in place, particularly those that assist children. Walker explained that his goal isn’t to compete with existing nonprofits but to help them in their missions.

“It takes a real special group of people to work in that capacity,” he said. “I don’t know if I have the strength for it, but I certainly have the strength and the ability to help these organizations that are out there.”

Walker isn’t the only person who has been working tirelessly to raise awareness about and through Clays for Kids. The organization’s board of directors also includes Kirk Leopold of Wind Dancer Construction; photographer and videographer John Stalowy of John Stalowy Productions; Realtor Jennifer Shelley; Sara Peterson, who works for Walker at Flathead Living; and Chris Hyatt, Whitefish City Council member and executive director of Flathead Valley Habitat for Humanity.

All are businesspeople who have taken time from work and their personal lives to put together and promote the Clays for Kids event, Walker said.

“To get another business owner away from his business when things are just starting to pick back up says a lot,” he said.

Walker is hopeful Saturday’s event will bring in several thousand dollars.

“When we first dreamt this whole thing up, I thought we’d try to raise about 50 grand. That would be a nice goal for a first-time effort,” he said. “Now I’m hoping that we’ll raise about 100” thousand dollars.

But even that money is “barely going to put a dent in the problem,” he added. “That’s why ... awareness is so important.”

Many people are shocked to discover how prevalent poverty and homelessness are among the Flathead’s youth, he said. More than 30 percent of local households fall under the federal poverty line. Forty percent of Flathead youths lack consistent access to food.

“We get calls almost every day from people saying, ‘Gosh, I had no idea that things are this bad in the Flathead,’” Walker said. “The people that aren’t shocked are school teachers and social workers — the people who are in these programs that help these types of families.”

Huntley Ritter was one of those who didn’t know how bad the local poverty problem was. The actor and host of “Ducks Unlimited Television” lives in the Lower Valley and said he knew poverty was a struggle for many nationwide.

“But it never occurred to me it was this bad here in the valley. I just hadn’t seen it,” he said.

Ritter first heard about Clays for Kids from his neighbor, Stalowy, who asked if he wanted to be involved with the charity shooting event.

“I went to the website and read about it and saw the [‘60 Minutes’] video and said of course,” Ritter said. “I think like a lot of people, we get in our everyday sort of cycle of life ... and you tend not to realize how irrelevant your struggles are.”

Ritter will be shooting at the event. His involvement has helped Clays for Kids secure a couple of sponsorships, Walker said.

“It’s just been great. He’s been great to come in and do something like this,” Walker said.

The National Rifle Association Foundation made a large donation to Clays for Kids, and the group has secured other large sponsors, he said. While the July 23 event will be used to support local nonprofits, Walker’s dream is to make Clays for Kids a nationwide fundraising phenomenon. He is already talking with national groups, including the NRA Foundation.

“We’ve been in dialogue almost since this started, because we knew that the problem is national,” Walker said. “It’s not just here in the Flathead; it’s all throughout Montana. And it’s not just all throughout Montana; it’s all throughout the U.S.”

For further information, visit www.claysforkids.org.

Reporter Kristi Albertson may be reached at 758-4438 or at kalbertson@dailyinterlake.com.