Giving Back Is What Hunters Do

Hunters not only care about wildlife, and conservation of wildlife, but they also care about the world and the people in it. Safari Club International Foundation’s Bell Family Blue Bag Program is an example of this caring and it is back in action after being briefly suspended due to COVID-19.

The SafariCare Blue Bag Program was originally created in 2005. In 2015 the Bell Family Blue Bag program was created with an agreement between the Larry Bell family and Safari Club International Foundation. It was created in memory of Amy Doris Bell, Larry Bell’s daughter who suddenly and unexpectantly passed away in 2014. The program is an opportunity for hunters to give back in the communities where they visit and hunt. A Bell Family Blue Bag can be requested from SCIF headquarters and used for carrying aid to those in need by filling it with items such as toiletries, medical supplies, educational supplies or other relief supplies, and carried on a plane as baggage. The supplies are then delivered to villages, clinics, orphanages, and schools in the communities where the hunts take place.  Better yet, if hunters would like to double their impact, they can take an empty blue bag and fill it with items from the stores in the community. This decreases baggage fees that may be accrued, benefits the local economy, and still provides goods for those in need.

Kyarasa Primary School and Sawe Primary School, in Tanzania, both recently received Bell Family Blue Bags. These two schools were some of the first schools to receive Bell Family Blue Bags since international hunting was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020. The students were given clothing, sports equipment, and educational supplies. According to the anonymous SCI Member, who is from Nebraska, “Seeing the children’s’ smiles and hearing their songs were awesome!”

If you are interested in taking a Bell Family Blue Bag to the community your next hunt is in, please contact Katie Robinson at Katier@SCIFirstForHunters.org or call 520-798-4890. After all, giving back is what hunters do!