Who we are
The adults who show up.
A youth program, run by
Range + Keep exists to introduce young people to the traditions of hunting, the responsibility of mentorship, and the importance of conservation — creating experiences that build character, confidence, competence, and a lifelong connection to the outdoors.
We believe hunting is about far more than harvesting an animal. It is about learning where our food comes from, understanding the responsibility that comes with taking a life, respecting wildlife, caring for the land, and carrying forward traditions that have connected generations to the outdoors.
We are not a club, a brand, or a content channel. We are a 501(c)(3) public charity that takes young people into the field with responsible adults, and answers for what happens there.
Leadership
Who’s
Every young person in the field is there because a specific adult said yes and put their name on it. That starts here.
Founder
Matthew D. Gomez
Founded Range + Keep to make guided, mentored hunting experiences available to young people who would otherwise never get a first season.
Co-Founder & Treasurer
Elisa Gomez
Co-founded Range + Keep and keeps its books. Every donation that comes in and every dollar that goes back out to tags, fees and fuel is recorded and reconciled by someone other than the person spending it.
Co-Founder
Chris Gause
Co-founded Range + Keep, and built and maintains everything you are reading. The organization’s public face is his work.
Our goal is not simply to create better hunters. Our goal is to help create better young men and women.
Matthew D. Gomez · Founder
What we stand for
Three things, done
Ethics before
the harvest
Participants learn firearm and field safety, wildlife identification, hunting ethics, preparation, fieldcraft, and the responsibility that comes with harvesting an animal.
More than
instruction
We connect young people with responsible adults willing to invest their time, knowledge, and experience — providing encouragement, accountability, perspective, and positive examples of adulthood.
Stewards,
not spectators
Young people learn about wildlife management, habitat, sustainable hunting, land stewardship, and the role responsible hunters play in preserving healthy ecosystems for future generations.
The Range + Keep promise
We put the young person
We prioritize safety, character, education, mentorship, and conservation over the harvest itself. A successful Range + Keep experience isn’t measured solely by whether a child takes an animal.
It’s measured by whether they
- Learned something they didn’t know that morning.
- Gained confidence they can carry into the rest of their life.
- Developed respect — for wildlife, for the land, for themselves.
- Made a connection with a mentor who believes in their potential.
- Walked away wanting to return to the outdoors.
- Would, years from now, take another kid into the field and give them the same opportunity.
The organization
On the record.
- Legal name
- Range & Keep InitiativeA Texas non-profit corporation
- Tax status
- 501(c)(3) public charityContributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law
- EIN
- 41-3495612Verifiable through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search
- Based in
- League City, TexasHunts run nationwide
The real harvest isn’t what’s brought home from the field.