Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Callahan.
Erin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I have been involved with shotgun sports my whole life. From a very young age, I was accompanying my parents to shoots in my stroller. Growing up in this community I was surrounded by many amazing role models who helped me become the person I am today. When I was a sophomore in high-school I decided that I wanted to start a charity shoot of my own. In doing this I decided that Children’s Hospital Colorado was a nonprofit that was well deserving of my contributions. To this day my charity shoot, the Merry Miracles Fun Shoot & Toy Drive has raised over $64,000 and many truckloads of toys for Children’s Hospital Colorado.
When I was five years old my baby cousin Lucy was born with CAH, or Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia, a rare disease that made her into one of the bravest young women I know. She also became a Children’s Miracle Network Child of Oklahoma. Later in life when I was in 7th grade my one of my best friends who was like a sister to me was diagnosed with Thyroid Cancer and ended up spending a lot of time at Children’s Hospital Colorado. She has now been in remission for almost eight years. These experiences made a big impact on my life and made me realize how far a little kindness can go.
I decided to take action and create as much kindness as I could for the young children of Children’s Hospital Colorado, around the holiday time. To my surprise, my event inspired an incredible amount of people to open their hearts and give as well. The first year of my event, with the help of the shooting community I raised over $4,000 and I was ecstatic! Little did I know the opportunities were endless, and the event has continued to grow more and more each year. Last year, the fifth year of the event we had 233 participants, along with over 20 volunteers, and ended up raising over $21,000 and two truckloads of toys on December 7th, 2019.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Juggling work, school, shooting, and other activities, along with this event has not always been the easiest but it is always worth it in the end. From the beginning of this journey, I had many people doubt my ability to make it a successful event, but that made me want to succeed even more! Being a very shy 15-year-old girl made it easy for people to not believe in me and my vision. From a young age, I have felt like my shyness and lack of confidence in myself has held me back, but putting myself in charge to put this event together has made me jump out of my comfort zone time after time. I am very thankful for this as it has helped me grow as a person and find my true purpose in life.
One other beautiful thing that came out of this journey has been meeting new people, which was something that I had been very hesitant to do in the past. I met many different people from different walks of life, that ended up supporting me and the Merry Miracles Shoot. One family in particular that touched my heart and the event is The Bordoni Family. Lilian Bordoni was a Children’s Hospital Colorado Ambassador in 2018 and attended the Merry Miracles Shoot that same year. At the event, Lilian stood up in front of everyone and told her story about her fight with Celiac Disease. Lilian and her family touched my heart and many others that day in a way that I never knew were possible. She is now a wonderful young lady that is starting high school this year and wants to become a Philanthropist when she is older. Lilian and her family have gone through so much, but still yearn to give back which is incredibly inspiring.
Merry Miracles Fun Shoot & Toy Drive – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
The Merry Miracles Fun Shoot & Toy Drive is a sporting clays event that doubles as a toy drive. This event occurs every December on the first Saturday of the month and this year it will take place on December 5th, 2020 at Great Guns Sporting in Nunn, CO. Our goal is to raise money and toys for the sick kiddos at Children’s Hospital Colorado around the holiday season. The charge is $70 including lunch, and participants that bring a toy will have their registration reduced to $60. This event differs from many other shoots in Colorado with the number of prizes given away. In past years we have had many guns, among other door prizes raffled off to the participants of the event. One of my favorite parts of this event that we started incorporating last year is the ugly sweater contest. Seeing everyone dressed up in their sweaters and other Christmas attire really brings together the atmosphere of the day. We also provide a few fun holiday snacks at stations along the course! Lunch is provided by Papa Franks Spaghetti after the event along with drawings and awards. For more information and to sign up visit merrymiracles.simpl.com.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I would have to say that the proudest moment for me throughout this whole journey is seeing my contributions come full circle. At the beginning of this year, I started a new job at the Children’s Hospital Colorado, North Campus and although I am not a clinical team member yet I have gotten opportunities to see how these sick kiddos’ attitudes can change when they get a new toy, stuffed animal or game in the midst of being at the hospital. This makes me proud knowing that my contributions are making a positive impact on these kids’ lives and it encourages me to keep doing my best to grow the event with the help of the shooting community.
Pricing:
- Main Entry Fee (No toy) -$70
- Main Entry Fee (With toy) -$60
- Elf Sponsorship – This sponsorship opportunity is a $275 donation. And you get to show off your company logo along the clays course along with having it posted on Facebook & announced at the shoot.
- Rudolph Sponsorship – This sponsorship is a donation of $500. With this you get all the perks of the Elf sponsorship along with your company logo on the shoot banner.
- Santa Sponsorship – This sponsorship is a donation of $750. With this you get all the perks of the Elf and Rudolph sponsorships along with your company logo on the 2020 shoot shirts.
Contact Info:
- Address: Great Guns Sporting
16126 Co Rd 96
Nunn, CO 80648 - Website: merrymiracles.simpl.com
- Phone: 303-921-9697
- Email: erincallahan.13@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/merrymiracles
Image Credit:
Rachel Gonzales
Rick Pepin photography
Diane Dible
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