About
Catch-A-Dream grants once-in-a-lifetime hunting and fishing experiences to children 18 years old or younger who have a life-threatening illness.
Catch-A-Dream’s singular purpose is to provide consumptive use outdoor experiences to fill the “gap” created when the Make-A-Wish Foundation established national policy that precludes granting a child a wish that involves hunting or use of “…firearms, hunting bows, or other hunting or sport-shooting equipment.”
The Origin of the Concept
The initial idea for a program that would ultimately be known as Catch-A-Dream was originated by Bruce Brady, of Brookhaven, MS in late 1999 as he faced his own arduous battle with cancer. Taking great comfort in time spent in the outdoors, he drew strength from these experiences, and was able to “recharge his batteries” as he hunted and fished in his last days. Shortly before his death, he shared with family and friends a vision for some type of program that would provide outdoor opportunities to Mississippi youth with life-threatening illnesses who, unfortunately, were no longer served by the world’s largest children’s wish-granting organization. When the Make-A-Wish Foundation established national policy that precludes granting a child a wish that involves hunting or use of “…firearms, hunting bows, or other hunting or sport-shooting equipment” Bruce and many others who love the outdoors, were disappointed.
Bruce lost his battle with cancer in February 2000, as initial concepts for a program to “stand in the gap” were being discussed. But his family and friends were dedicated to creating a program as a memorial to Bruce that would eternally provide a message of hope at a time when children with life-threatening illnesses need to know that hope does, indeed, exist. In mid-2000, months after Brady’s death, the Catch-A-Dream Program was founded as a unique and unprecedented partnership among the Brady family, the MSU-Extension Service, the Mississippi Wildlife Federation and the Mississippi 4-H Clubs Foundation, which provided Catch-A-Dream its initial 501(c)(3) fiscal home.
In late 2003, the 4-H Foundation Board recommended that, due to phenomenal growth and national support and involvement, a separate foundation be created into which the program would move from its original incubator home in the 4-H Foundation. The Foundation was incorporated in December 2003 and granted 501(c)(3) status by the IRS. The Catch-A-Dream Foundation, whose mission is to provide resources and implementation of the Program, is based at Mississippi State University, and the program is supported and delivered as part of the MSU-Extension Service, operating as a functional unit within the MSU Extension Service.
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