Wichita, KS -(AmmoLand.com)- Powderhook and Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors announced today the release of a revolutionary Digital Mentoring program delivered via the Powderhook app.
The app functionality will provide hunters and anglers with ready access to Digital Mentors in their area. Digital Mentors who use the app provide advice and tips, making it easier for new people to begin, and helping people of all experience levels enjoy better days outdoors. Funding for the development of the program was provided by Cabela’s Outdoor Fund.
“We are excited to get this Digital Mentoring functionality into the hands of folks new to the outdoors,” stated Mike Christensen, President of Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, Inc. “We are grateful that Cabela’s Outdoor Fund shares our vision and is lending their support to our efforts. Now we are eager to have experienced hunters and anglers sign on as Digital Mentors and to get the app in the hands of novices who are needing ready access to the information they need to enable them to have fun outdoors. We believe we can multiply our impact by adding a technology component to our existing programs. Our goal is to then expand through an app in places we don’t yet work on a daily basis. Where traditional mentoring may take hours, this approach enables more people to participate and do so with only a couple minutes per week.”
For more information on the app and to download it to your phone, click on this link: https://outdoormentors.org/content/digital-mentoring.
Here’s how it works:
When a user downloads the Powderhook app, they’ll have the option to click on a “Me” button. Once in the “Me” section of the app the user can click on the Digital Mentor badge. To become a Digital Mentor, a user must meet several criteria, including having taken hunter or bowhunter education, taking the Outdoor Pledge, and they must agree to receive emails or push notifications from the app when people nearby have questions.
Once a user becomes a Digital Mentor, which takes about four minutes, they receive alerts when people need help. While the app is completely anonymous, to protect the identities of children and to prevent people from being intimidated when asking questions, posts and replies made by Digital Mentors carry a badge denoting the person helping is a member of the program.
According to Powderhook CEO, Eric Dinger, the program was designed to be extremely simple and scalable.
“We believe many people who may not be able to commit the time to a full mentoring relationship will be willing to lend an answer here or there via an app. The essence of mentorship boils down to having someone there to answer your question when you have one – and to show you the ropes as you begin to discover life as a sportsman. While the app certainly can’t do what in-person mentorship can do, we can offer a helpdesk-like environment via the app with thousands of Digital Mentors ready to chip in their local expertise,” said Dinger.
Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors has long been considered a leader in matching youth with adults in long-term mentoring relationships. However, scaling the program outside of Kansas has proven a tall task. Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors CEO, Mike Christensen, is eager to see if this new approach can help.
“Expanding our reach and support via a mobile application can boost our efforts to get more people outdoors. Ultimately we believe we can get people exposed to our program via Digital Mentoring, and perhaps draw a percentage those participants into our current programs, thereby expanding our core mission.” explained Christensen.
Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors partners with state fish and wildlife agencies, conservation organizations and youth organizations to give at-risk children outdoor opportunities they would not have had otherwise.
“Too many children today never get the chance to experience the great outdoors we all know and love. When you hear a youngster say they’ve never seen a cow or been on a dirt road, you know we have to step up our efforts to get these children outdoors. This Digital Mentoring app is one more tool we can use to accomplish this,” stated Christensen.
About Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors:
Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors is a Wichita, Kansas-based national organization dedicated to providing children with mentors who will share with them the experiences of traditional outdoor activities. The heart of the group’s mission is to give children opportunities to connect with nature that they more than likely won’t have without a mentor showing them the way. Partnering with organizations with like-minded conservation and youth participation efforts like Big Brothers Big Sisters, Pheasants Forever, the National Shooting Sports Foundation, Delta Waterfowl, the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation and the National Wild Turkey Federation, among others, volunteers with a passion for the outdoors can give a child the chance to go fish, hunt, or simply spend time in the fields with a caring adult.
For more information about Pass It On – Outdoor Mentors, please visit www.outdoormentors.org.
About Powderhook, Inc.:
Powderhook is an app and website built to incentivize sportsmen and women to help each other get outdoors more often. Together with forward thinking outdoor industry brands, state agencies and leading NGO’s, Powderhook’s team is tackling some of the toughest challenges facing the future of hunting, fishing and recreational shooting.
To get the free app, available for Apple and Android, visit www.powderhook.com.