Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund

In 2012, my husband and I were sitting in the airport in Las Vegas waiting for our flight home. We'd been in town for National Finals Rodeo. As we sat there, observing a sea of cowboy hats coming and going from others also in town for the event, the idea for a new book hit me. 

What if there was an executive-type woman who met a rodeo cowboy at the airport? 

By the time we landed at home, I had an outline for the story and couldn't wait to start writing it. 

As I was researching details for  The Christmas Cowboy (the first book in the Rodeo Romance series), I needed to know how much medical care an injured cowboy would receive at a rodeo versus going to the hospital. In the story, the hero is a saddle bronc rider named Tate who sustains a serious injury at a rodeo.

In an attempt to get my facts straight for the story, I reached out to the Justin Sportsmedicine Team®.

Through mobile medical centers, they provide care at more than 125 PRCA rodeos annually. Their responses to my questions were extremely helpful and that was when I first learned about the Justin Cowboy Crisis Fund. 

The JCCF is a non-profit organization that assists rodeo athletes who’ve sustained catastrophic injuries and are unable to work for an extended period. The JCCF steps in and steps up, offering support to injured cowboys until they can get back on their feet and back to competing. The JCCF also dedicate one hundred percent of all contributions received for disbursement to eligible applicants without any administrative fees being subtracted. When you donate $1, that whole dollar goes directly into the fund.

Founded in 1990 by the Justin Boot Company in partnership with the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) and the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association (WPRA) the fund was granted 501-C3 status as a non-profit charity organization in 1991. To date, the JCCF has awarded nearly $8 million in need-based financial assistance to almost 1,100 injured rodeo athletes and their families. Among those who serve on the board are recording artist Charlie Daniels, Professional Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, and former Dallas Cowboy star Walt Garrison.

I was so impressed with the Justin Sportsmedicine Team®, I wanted to do a little something in return to express my gratitude. So, I launched a campaign to donate a portion of my book sales to the JCCF during the month of December.

In 2015, I added the month of November to my promotion, including two months to raise funds for JCCF. Then I moved up the donation period to begin October 1. 

My eighth Read a Book, Help A Cowboy campaign is in full swing and run through Christmas Eve. 

Through my campaign, I strive to raise funds and awareness for the JCCF. During the campaign period, I donate ten percent of the net proceeds for ALL my book sales to the JCCF. Book sales include digital books, paperback and hardback books, audio books, and even Kindle Unlimited pages read! 

If you enjoy rodeos and the cowboys who make them possible (or reading about them in books), I hope you’ll consider supporting the JCCF. It’s a great organization that really does make a difference when these cowboys are injured and one thing that's particularly wonderful about them is that every penny donated goes into the fund, not toward administrative expenses.

To help kick things off, I have the first three books in my Rodeo Romance series available in a boxed set, and for a limited time, the set is on sale for just 99 cents! 

Or read the newly released Remembering Christmas, book 9 in the series!

Thank you for your help in supporting the JCCF! You can read more about the campaign here on my website: https://shannahatfield.com/give-back/

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