Made Together is our monthly spotlight on the incredible clients we collaborate with, and the custom projects we create to help bring their brands to life. Every project tells a story, and we’re proud to share how these partnerships turn ideas into something tangible and impactful beyond the print.
By Rachel Doerflinger, Marketing Director
Welcome to a very exciting follow-up edition of Made Together. In January, Screen Printing Northwest gave away 250 custom branded hoodies. We wanted to support a business or organization doing real good in its community, and two entries stood out: Wolf Pups on Wheels and Valor Archery Challenge.
We couldn’t pick a winner, so we asked them to split the prize. They both graciously agreed.
A SHOT AT HEALING
I recently connected with Sam Westfall, founder and CEO of Valor Archery Challenge, a moving target archery obstacle course for veterans, active-duty military, families, and outdoor enthusiasts. Sam has built a much-needed therapeutic outlet for people dealing with PTSD, depression, and anxiety. The focus and discipline archery demands, along with the camaraderie of a shared goal in a community space, make a real difference in veterans’ lives.
Sam is a veteran living in Fort Carson, Colorado, and a former Army mechanic. He was medically separated after being crushed by a tank, and the transition into an IT career brought with it a lot of stress, anxiety, and depression. He was very transparent with me: alcohol and shooting firearms at the range didn’t make him feel any better. Then he found archery.
One day, a buddy of his had explained it to him this way. A gun range is isolating. You’re wearing ear muffs, separated in stalls, with no chance to chat or connect with others. Your target is often a human silhouette, and combined with the force and sound of firing a weapon, it can trigger a veteran right back to the traumatic experiences they’re trying to escape.
Archery is different. When you put a bow in your hand, there are no ear muffs and no isolation. You can have conversations, trash talk, and connect with your community before you focus in on the target, which is a very non-threatening plastic flamingo or velociraptor in the distance.
And then you’re behind the bow. You pull the string back. Everything goes quiet. All the voices and distractions go away, replaced with total focus on your contracting muscles, your sight, and the target down range. When you let the arrow fly, a little bit of that stress, anxiety, and depression flies out with it.
A VETERAN'S MISSION TAKING AIM
“I can’t be the only one who needs archery as therapy,” Sam had thought when he created Valor Archery Challenge.
It quickly became a whole enterprise. Sam bought all the required rental equipment and started making connections with veterans around Fort Carson and the five military bases in Colorado Springs, leasing shooting complexes and privately owned veteran spaces for his events. The venues rotate, offering different terrain, altitudes, and locations to keep participants on their toes. Some even offer a “hike to hunt” opportunity, where participants travel to each shooting cone across a two-mile loop, sometimes up steep inclines.
Every year, Sam reaches out to 700+ businesses to sponsor raffle prizes and freebies for his events. He is also an ambassador to Veteran Beer Club, a nationwide program for active or transitioning military and veterans to get together and chat over a drink, and to the Institute for Veterans and Military Families (IVMF) at Syracuse University. Through both, he is able to promote Valor and talk about archery’s therapeutic benefits.
Valor Archery Challenge has become a meaningful meeting point between the veteran community and the archery world, and the relief it offers participants living with PTSD deserves to be highlighted. For all these reasons and more, we knew that Valor Archery Challenge was going to be a winner of our Branded Hoodie Giveaway.
MERCH THAT MEANS SOMETHING
The hoodies we printed for him carry Valor’s iconic logo on the front. On the back is the same design as Valor’s custom challenge coins: a skeleton wearing a special forces helmet shooting a bow. Challenge coins, by the way, are a longstanding military tradition used to communicate special achievements and the coinholder’s rank. If you’re outranked at a coin check at the bar, you’re buying!
The hoodies have been selling really well at the registration tent at Valor’s events, and Sam is very pleased with how comfortable and durable they are. Not only do they strengthen Valor’s word of mouth, but they act as tangible keepsakes for participants who have made forever memories with other veterans on these courses: something to hold onto when trauma and triggers crop up.
For Sam, this means everything. His most recent Valor event was held at a veteran retreat space owned by a woman he met at a Veteran Beer Club outing. She wanted to create a getaway for veterans to disconnect from electronics and life’s stresses, and when Sam shared his experience with archery, she was quick to collaborate. He even left her a bow and arrow so she could keep practicing through the winter.
The smile on Sam’s face when he told me this was contagious. It is very clear that the connections he makes through his business are personal, and he is thrilled when archery helps another veteran or active-duty service member the way it helped him.
He was just as thrilled at the prospect of splitting the grand prize with Wolf Pups on Wheels.
Both Sam with Valor Archery Challenge and Brittany of Wolf Pups on Wheels immediately understood that sharing the spotlight and highlighting each other’s mission mattered more than taking home the grand prize. We couldn’t have picked better recipients.
Visit Valor Archery Challenge’s Website >
View Upcoming Archery Events >
Check out Valor Archery Challenge’s TikTok >
