Recently, 30 Utah Walmart associates from 11 stores across the Salt Lake Valley volunteered to teach children from Boys & Girls Clubs summer programs how to fish at Willow Pond in Murray.
The activity took place on Friday, July 19, where Walmart provided nearly 200 fishing poles, live bait, and other gear to the kids to hook them on a new outdoor activity. The retailer also donated $3,000 in grant money to help fund Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake summer programs.
“What Walmart stands for is really the community. It’s one of our key values,” says Kevin Carlile, manager of Walmart South Jordan. “We were able to meet with the Boys and Girls Club and take an opportunity to get them outside [to see] the benefits of the outdoors here. It also gives our associates an opportunity to be part of the community and to donate their time and their efforts to the things that matter most—the kids.”
“We’re fortunate here in Utah that we’ve got a lot of different types of fishing opportunities pretty close to home,” says Michael Packer, central region recreation events coordinator for Utah Department of Wildlife Resources. “These community fisheries are a great place for families and friends to be able to break away from the grind and become reacquainted with nature.”
Packer says the children were most likely to catch bluegill, trout, and catfish.
Amanda Ree Hughes, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake, says activities like this one are extremely important to the children she serves.
“At Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake, it’s important to us to provide safe, positive environments for kids and to give them opportunities that they may never have,” she explains. “We want to keep these kids active and healthy and show them that they have opportunities right in our backyard to be able to have fun, and get them off their screens and outside and enjoy the summer before school starts.”
Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Salt Lake has seven locations in Salt Lake County, Carbon County, and Tooele, and the organization serves about 5,000 kids every year.
“It’s really important to have partners like Walmart who are willing to come together and support those kids and provide those positive opportunities for kids to succeed,” says Hughes.
One of the children shared some of her feelings about fishing for the first time.
“Because this one was my first time, it was so scary. But now I know I don’t need to be scared, and now I have six fish and I’m so excited,” she says.
So, what’s her favorite thing about fishing?
“Be happy and don’t be mad. Because if you are so mad, you don’t have nothing. If you work so hard, you will have [a fish].”
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