EACH OCTOBER, as the fall season gets many excited about cooler days and turning leaves, it’s also time for a long-held and beloved tradition to take place at the Lincoln County Fairgrounds. For one special weekend — the juvenile hunt weekend — children ages 6 to 16 gather for an event that is far more than hunting deer. It is a celebration of community, mentorship, and generosity. It is the heartbeat of a local nonprofit called Kids Hunting for a Cure – Matt Malone Memorial Chapter.
The structure of the weekend is simple, but its impact is anything but.
“Basically, what we do is on the weekend of the juvenile hunt, we have a big event at the fairgrounds,” explained longtime volunteer and current Kids Hunting for a Cure treasurer, Alicia Marberry. “We have landowners who donate their land to us for that weekend only.”
Once registered, each child is paired with a guide and assigned to a donated piece of land. For some participants, this is their first real opportunity to experience the outdoors in such a hands‑on way.
“What I think is so neat is that for that weekend, kids who may not have places to hunt or are not familiar with hunting or want to know about it get to come out and hunt and experience the outdoors,” Marberry said.
She added that the weekend is about much more than time in the woods. Each participant receives a T-shirt, a lunch, and access to a variety of activities at the fairgrounds. They are also entered into door prize drawings, and, according to Marberry, every child leaves with something.
“The largest buck killed receives a free mount, and the largest doe killed gets a free processing,” she said. “We couldn’t do it without the support from the community. We have local businesses that sponsor the shirts, activities, and prizes that are given out. They donate both items and money for live and silent auctions. At the auction, we have everything from custom knives to guns, among other great items. We also have a gun raffle. It’s really a lot of fun.”
The weekend includes safety lessons, tree‑stand demonstrations, and opportunities to shoot bows and BB guns — hands‑on experiences that build confidence and responsibility.
FROM STRUGGLE TO SUCCESS
The organization’s journey has not been without challenges. Marberry, who attended her first meeting in 2022 and was quickly appointed treasurer, remembers the uncertainty that followed the COVID‑19 pandemic.
“No event was held in 2020 or 2021, and it seemed many had forgotten about it,” she said. Dale Riddle, the current Kids Hunting for a Cure president, wanted to bring it back in 2022 but struggled, as many of the people who had helped with it had moved on to other things. There had also been some kids who aged out. He talked about having to let things go if he couldn’t find any additional help, and that’s where my husband and I stepped in.”
Together with other board members and a dedicated group of volunteers, they began rebuilding.
Their efforts paid off. In 2022, the hunt returned, and the organization sent $22,000 to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In 2023, that number rose to $30,000. In 2024, they reached $40,000. This past year, despite losing a few longtime sponsors, they still raised $38,000 — just shy of their goal. Since 2007, Kids Hunting for a Cure has raised $342,600 for St. Jude.
Around 90% of all funds raised go directly to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, with the remaining 10% covering essential operating costs.
A TRADITION THAT SPANS GENERATIONS
For Marberry, the event is deeply personal. She has been involved since around 2017, when her own children participated.
“We have many volunteers who are involved now that hunted in it as kids, and now their kids and their kids and their grandkids are hunting in it,” she said. Her children grew up in the event — first as participants, now as helpers.
“My son got involved in hunting in it. We signed him up to hunt, and he got to participate,” she said. “We really love being involved and getting other kids involved. Maybe some parents do not know anything about guns and hunting. We can set them up with a guide who can ensure the kids’ safety.”
Though she wasn’t raised in a hunting family, she married one and embraced the lifestyle wholeheartedly.
“My kids have always loved hunting,” she said. “We deer hunt, turkey hunt, dove hunt, duck hunt, anything and everything.”
LOOKING AHEAD
When asked what she hopes for the future, Marberry said she hopes to see it grow.
“I want to keep growing it,” she said. “The biggest challenge now is finding more landowners willing to donate land for the weekend. I feel like we have a lot of great people here in our community that support us.
Additionally, she hopes to attract new business sponsors who may not know about the event but would be eager to support it once they do. GN
For more information, visit online at kidshuntingforacure.org.
