Sycamore Sporting Clays hosts Navy SEALs fundraiser Sept. 25

Shooters can fire sporting clays alongside Navy SEALs on Friday, Sept. 25, at Sycamore Sporting Clays on Lower Lewis Road in Loveland.

The second Navy SEALs Take on Cincinnati event pairs the sporting clays community with current and former SEALs to raise money for the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum and military families. Registration opens at noon, with a shotgun start at 1 p.m. Individual shooters pay $400; a foursome costs $1,500.

All funds go to four museum programs: direct family support for Naval Special Warfare members in need, the Trident House program for special operators and their families, a scholarship program for children of special operators and the museum's K9 Project, which provides service dogs to special-operations veterans. The event is organized by SEAL Team Cincinnati, a local host committee, according to the museum's event page.

David Todd, owner and founder of Sycamore Sporting Clays, and manager Rebecca Todd appeared on WLWT on Thursday, Sept. 24, to promote the event. The venue has been in operation since 1951.

Todd and volunteer families from Terrace Park, including the Heffner/Carrigan and Carman families, began hosting charity shoots in 2001 for Shriners Hospital for Children, according to Terrace Park council records. Over two decades, those shoots raised more than $1 million, with Shriners Hospital receiving over $900,000.

In all, Sycamore Sporting Clays has helped generate more than $4 million in net proceeds for nonprofits over 25 years. Beneficiaries include Beechwood Home, Young Life, Stepping Stones, Breakthrough T1D and Junior Achievement.

The fundraiser weekend continues Saturday, Sept. 26, with a dinner and auction at the American Sign Museum, 1330 Monmouth Ave. in Cincinnati. Tickets cost $250 per person. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Retired Navy SEAL and NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy will deliver the keynote address at the Saturday dinner. Cassidy served 11 years in the SEAL teams and flew three space missions totaling 377 days in space.

A limited-edition weapons kit featuring a Heckler & Koch USP Expert .45, a Benelli M4 Tactical 12-gauge shotgun and a Half Face Blades folding knife is available for $10,000. Only 50 kits were produced for the event.

For questions, contact host committee member Madhu Vrishabhendra at 513-604-5020 or [email protected].

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