Our Inspiration – Cali Grace Steingraber

After Cali’s first year, some of her medical issues started to stabilize and then it became clear that she would need to fight to learn how to do things that come naturally to most others. Cali grew familiar with various therapy, and with each session she grew ever more popular with therapists and other caregivers. Cali’s sunny personality, sweet nature and incredible smiles won her friends from any situation she was in. Cali grew to love adults and children of all ages, as long as they could make her smile and give her the occasional treat! When school started for her, her story was no different. Cali charmed everyone and had many friends and caregivers who loved to be around her. Her laugh was truly contagious, and school was a pleasure. She proved
to teachers that she was a pretty smart cookie and over time, the school district learned how to measure just how intelligent she was. As Cali grew into a precious teenager, she used that keen intelligence and fighting spirit to learn about sports and became passionate about watching, cheering for, and playing just about any sport available to her! Cali is also a true outdoor enthusiast and in addition to having participated in adaptive baseball, hockey, water skiing and downhill skiing, she enjoys a Packers game or two at Lambeau each year and is a “Cheesehead” through and through. Sports aren’t Cali’s only loves, however. She is as much a girly-girl as there ever was! Cali has been a participant in the Pageant of Hope (a pageant for girls with special needs). She adores dressing up, getting her hair and makeup done, and spending the day posing and smiling for cameras. She knows she is beautiful inside and out and enjoys making her outside as pretty as she feels inside!

After watching her dad head out to the woods time after time without her, she started to ask to come along. Eric would bring her with for evening sits in the ground blind and it wasn’t long after when she started to ask when she would be able to hunt. Soon after, the family was introduced to a wonderful man in Northern WI, along with her own hunting party who provided Cali with an opportunity to harvest a doe, a buck, and a bear all with in a 72-hour period. She was provided with adaptive hunting equipment to make it all possible. Seeing the joy in Cali’s eyes and the giant smile on her face inspired Eric to want to give back to others like Cali who want to experience the sport of hunting, but don’t know where to start or how to provide the opportunity
to make the dream come true.