The mission of Outdoors Without Limits (OWL) is to provide outdoor opportunities and experiences for individuals of all ages with disabilities.

Few chapters of the nationwide organization are more dedicated to that mission than the OWL Pike County Chapter.

“The more people know about OWL, the more they want to be involved,” said Terry McPherson, chapter chair. “So, the purpose of our Awareness Benefit and Dinner on Sept. 2 at Cattleman Park is to bring greater awareness to the OWL program and to raise money for OWL while enjoying a night of food, fun and fellowship.”

The Awareness Benefit and Dinner will feature silent and live auctions and all funds raised will benefit the OWL programs.

Single tickets are $30 and couple tickets are $40 and include one OWL membership. Junior tickets for ages 13-17 are $10 and children’s tickets are $5.

Table partners are $250 and include one OWL membership.

McPherson said the OWL Pike County Chapter has about 125 members and hundreds of volunteers who just want to be a part of providing people with disabilities with opportunities to participate and enjoy the great outdoors.

“At the Awareness Benefit and Dinner we will provide information about the different OWL programs that we offer locally and ways that people can be involved,” McPherson said. “Our fourth annual OWL deer hunt is coming up Dec. 3, 4 and 5 and we’ll need land sponsors, guides and volunteers for everything from cooking and serving meals to taking out the trash.”

McPherson said that it’s heartwarming to see how much outdoor opportunities mean to those with disabilities and he finds it so rewarding to be a part the OWL program.

“We have, perhaps, the largest OWL deer hunt in the country,” he said. “Last year, we had 138 disabled hunters to register. Due to different reasons, including the weather, we had 118 actually show up for the hunt. We expect to have that many and more this year.”

The price tag for the December OWL Pike County Chapter deer hunt will be in the thousands of dollars so the success of the Awareness Benefit and Dinner is extremely important in raising funds and enlisting volunteers.

The OWL Pike County Chapter was also a sponsor of the Bream Buster event at the OWL “Catch a Smile” bass fishing tournament at Campbell Enterprises in Banks in June.

“We would like to be able to offer other OWL activities such as trips to a zoo when funds are available,” McPherson said.

“The more funds we raise the more we can do.”

For more information or tickets, call McPherson at 334-372-7334, Johnny Green at 334-268-0527, Wade Henderson at 334-566-6042 or Greg Ricks at 334-670-2488.