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FROM STRUGGLE TO SUCCESS \u201cNo event was held in 2020 or 2021, and it seemed many had forgotten about it,\u201d 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\u2019t find any additional help, and that\u2019s where my husband and I stepped in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together with other board members and a dedicated group of volunteers, they began rebuilding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Their efforts paid off. In 2022, the hunt returned, and the organization sent $22,000 to St. Jude Children\u2019s 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 \u2014 just shy of their goal. Since 2007, Kids Hunting for a Cure has raised $342,600 for St. Jude.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Around 90% of all funds raised go directly to St. Jude Children\u2019s Research Hospital, with the remaining 10% covering essential operating costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A TRADITION THAT SPANS GENERATIONS \u201cWe 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,\u201d she said. Her children grew up in the event \u2014 first as participants, now as helpers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy son got involved in hunting in it. We signed him up to hunt, and he got to participate,\u201d she said. \u201cWe 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\u2019 safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though she wasn\u2019t raised in a hunting family, she married one and embraced the lifestyle wholeheartedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/strong>The organization\u2019s 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\u201119 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/03\/4-3-1024x683.jpg\")
<\/strong>For Marberry, the event is deeply personal. She has been involved since around 2017, when her own children participated. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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