DE PERE, Wis. — Ryan Baudhuin knows the power of the outdoors for veterans struggling with the return to civilian life.
A post-service hunting trip changed his life.
“That hunt saved my life. It saved my life, no doubt about it,” Baudhuin said Sunday. “It gave me purpose. It repurposed myself and allowed me to give the gift of the outdoors to other people.”
A Wrightstown resident, Baudhuin also serves on the board for High Point Adventures. Among its missions, the non-profit organizes hunting trips for veterans who may be dealing with any number of issues.
“It’s not really about the hunt. The hunt is the setting,” he said. “It’s the camaraderie and enjoying the outdoor that really helps with a lot of mental health issues: PTSD, anxiety and depression, that a lot of veterans deal with post combat or post service.”
Baudhuin is a Marine who served in Iraq in 2004 and 2005, years that saw some of the heaviest fighting of the war.
He also earned the title of Wahl Benevolent Beards’ Man of the Year in 2022.
It’s a title that came with $5,000 for High Point Adventures.
Wahl and Baudhuin continued raising money for the charity this weekend at Celebrate De Pere. The company offered free beard trims to people attending the event.
With more than 100 trims, Wahl donated another $5,000 to High Point Adventures.
Peter Blashka used the free trim offer to look sharp for Monday’s Memorial Day services in Green Bay.
“It feels good because I didn’t have to do it myself,” the De Pere resident said with a smile. “It’s fun letting someone else do it. I only trim it twice a year and this was going to be one of them before the memorial.”
An infantryman who served in Vietnam in 1967 and 1968, Blashka knows the value of connecting with other veterans.
“That was sort of hard the first two years coming back, finding people,” he said. “But then finally people popped up all over, which is fantastic.”
Baudhuin said he wants to see High Point Adventures continue its growth to help others.
“Save lives, change lives, give people another tool,” he said. “The outdoors is not going to cure you of PTSD. It’s not going to cure mental health, but it’s something that can help you combat it.”
More information about the Benevolent Beard Contest can be found at https://woobox.com/qppkup.
