Camp Ponderosa gets all-terrain track chair for vets
Representatives from the Northwest Montana Veterans Food Pantry recently learned how to use theAction Outside LLC all-terrain track chair recently given to the veterans organization thanks to a fundraising auction by Hell's A-Roarin' Outfitters in Gardiner.
Jeff and Jana Swenson with Action Outside LLC recently delivered an all-terrain track chair to the Northwest Montana Veterans Camp Ponderosa.
The Swensons taught John and Linda Carlin, Terry and Deb Kramer and Allen and Linda Erickson about the chair and how it will enable veterans to maneuver through the camp and be able to get out with nature, even if they have limitations that have made it challenging to walk in the woods.
This is the seventh chair for which Hell’s A-Roarin’ Outfitters of Gardiner has raised money to give away to veterans, first responders and veteran organizations. The Hell’s A-Roarin’ Horse Drive benefit auction was held virtually Memorial Day 2020. Bill and Marietta Lander from Idaho were the high-dollar buyers. Over 200 people donated auction items and there were several thousand individual bidders from all over the world.
This year’s Hell’s A-Roarin’ Horse Drive will take place May 29 in Gardiner and will be a live event. To purchase tickets, visit hellsaroarinhorsedrive.com.
Camp Ponderosa was created by Northwest Montana Veterans Stand Down founders Allen and Linda Erickson, who purchased the buildings and facilities of the long defunct Swan River Correctional Training Center and are transforming it into a facility for veterans.
“It is our dream to create a live-in treatment facility in which veterans can receive counseling and group therapy, along with peaceful recreation in a scenic environment,” Allen Erickson told the Daily Inter Lake as the project was in its formative stage.
Veterans will be able to learn job skills and get instruction with looking for jobs and writing resumes, with help from qualified professionals.