An NRA filled day of firearms education for ladies in Alaska
NRA Field Operations' Volunteer Fundraising Coordinator Allison Terusiak shared a story about a great Women On Target clinic on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula.
Elaina Spraker Fires Off the Kenai Peninsula Women On Target Program
Are you a woman who has time and time again watched your husband from the window shooting his guns outside? Do you secretly wish you could join the guys on their next big hunting trip? Or perhaps you may be the type who simply wants to have a working knowledge of these cold-metal, comes in all shapes and sizes, and in many ways intimidating tools that we call firearms?
If so, fear not, Elaina Spraker of the Kenai Peninsula Women On Target Clinic has just the thing for you.
Women On Target is a volunteer program in which women with any experience level are invited for a day of training with certified NRA Range Safety Officers. Participants are given the opportunity to shoot an array of firearms from revolvers and semi automatic handguns to shotguns for skeet shooting.
Elaina Spraker is the Clinic Director of the Kenai Peninsula WOT and she has done an amazing job leading this program and generating the popularity of the clinic. Many classes have been filled by word of mouth alone, and on some occasions have had waiting lists due to the high demand.
The women participating are usually those who have never touched a firearm, or are even those who are familiar, and want to learn the mechanics of it. They wish to be more self sufficient, without solely relying on the protection of their husbands. However, some find it harder to learn what they want to know from their significant other, family member, or even a friend. For the participants, it's nice to have someone who doesn't know them and has the patience to teach them the basics of a firearm that a husband or father may not.
Several of the volunteer Range Safety Officers say women are easier to train than men due to the lack of any pre-conceived notions. They're coming to the clinic with a clean slate and an eagerness to absorb all of the knowledge the coaches have to give. "It's so neat to take women who are scared of firearms at 9:00AM and then they love it by 5:00PM,” says Spraker. Her clinic also provides training on how to defend themselves against the growing population of bears in the Alaskan wilderness.
You may be asking yourself, who is responsible for funding such a valuable program? Spraker charges $25.00 per person to be a participant in the clinic; however, after you incorporate the amount ammo that is required, it doesn't cover much of the cost. That's where programs such as the Friends of NRA and Safari Club come along. They provide much of the funding that gives so many women this awesome opportunity.
Women On Target has provided women around the country with such a valuable life skill of confidently and safely handling firearms. However, these programs can't start themselves. It takes someone with a passion to get the word out to women that they can lose their fears and anxieties of firearms and get out there while having a great time doing it. That someone can be you! Visit the Women On Target website at www.nrahq.org/women/isc/index.asp or contact Diane Danielson, NRA Women On Target Coordinator at ddanielson@nrahq.org, or (703)-267-1398 and be a part of countless women's lives. Remember, our Second Amendment rights may have been written by men, but were meant to be enjoyed by women too!
Thanks for the great Women On Target recap, Allison.
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