KERSHAW COUNTY, S.C. — Giving disabled veterans a community through hunting and fishing is the goal of one local nonprofit, Warriors for the Outdoors.
"You can find good or bad in any situation it’s just where do you want to look," Jimmy Bates said of his attitude as a disabled veteran.
Bates served for nine years before he was diagnosed with a brain tumor after having been cancer-free for 19 years.
"Three months of chemo and a month of radiation later, I beat brain cancer," he said.
While going through treatment, Bates met his wife Libbi Gramling when she was working at the VA Hospital. Now, the two are using their experience to help build community through an appreciation for the outdoors.
"The best feeling you ever get is you take a guy out and get their first pig, their biggest pig, the biggest fish, the best night of fishing," Bates said. "That's just that's the rewarding thing to me."
He’s able to see that reward through his nonprofit, Warriors for the Outdoors. Bates built a cabin on hunting property along with other veterans. Now, he uses it to provide free hunting and fishing trips.
"Watching him….this is like what he was meant to do," Gramling said. "This is what he was born to do."
His wife supports him through her role as the organization’s treasurer and by helping maintain the hunting property.
"There's so many people, veterans that need a place to go, that need a person to talk to, they need a group of people to talk to and can enjoy being together without feeling like it's therapy," Gramling said.
That’s the environment Bates tries to provide for people who might not find that community after leaving the service.
"Anybody that joins the military, there's usually a week of basic training," Bates said. "Usually it's about 13 weeks to get them from a civilian to a soldier when they get out. It's nothing, it's ‘Thanks. Here you go. Here's the world."
It's a world that can be scary to tackle alone. But through Warriors for the Outdoors, Bates said there is something they can discuss together around a campfire.
"That little spot, we sit around with chairs and just sit around the campfire just talking and not being judged," Bates said.
He says if it were not for his wife and the community of veterans he's found, his work with Warriors for the Outdoors wouldn't be possible.
"I don't hunt. I support the organization, but I don’t hunt," Gramling said, laughing about first learning of her husband's affinity for the outdoors. "I would try to teach him you know, meditate and be in the moment and little did I know that that's what hunting is. It’s meditation. It's being in the moment and being aware of your surroundings. And I just thought it was beautiful."
From deer to turkey to squirrels, Bates said there are all kinds of animals at the property all year round for veterans to hunt and fish.