Staurolite

About Us

What the name means.

A staurolite is a rock that grows in the shape of a cross.

The name staurolite comes from the Greek words stauros for cross and lithos for stone. The stone cross signifies the core mission of the foundation, which is built upon the Rock of Jesus Christ and signifies the hope we place in His sacrifice on the cross.

We selected the name because it represents the cross to us — the cross where Jesus the Christ was crucified for the sins of the world so we would not be separated from God the Father throughout eternity.

“For we are God's masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.”

Ephesians 2:10, NLT

How we got here

Our first hunt, in 2013, was a single elk hunt in the mountains of New Mexico for three wounded veterans. We thought we had reached a new level of difficulty in this work. We learned pretty quickly we had not even scratched the surface of what God had planned for us.

We have served vets blown up at twenty-three years old, helicopter pilots whose missions were to protect troops, Marines on overwatch, EOD techs who lost both arms, men paralyzed by strep throat in the field. We have served Vietnam veterans who came home to nothing.

Mike and Cheryl Smith founded the foundation. We are an IRS approved 501(c)(3) nonprofit. We have no paid staff. The founders take no compensation, including for bookkeeping or accounting. We are not getting any younger, and we have begun to plan for succession — but for now, we keep doing the work.

We will work hard to avoid the trap so many others have fallen into, chasing bigger numbers instead of quality work. If God has called us to take three guys on an elk hunt, that's where we'll stay.

Founders

Board of Directors

Photos of board members and founders will be added as we receive them.