Jack Pharaoh, a Greybull 17-year-old, has long been known in the Big Horn Basin for operating Jack’s Box, which provides food to those in need.

A young Pharaoh first got the idea for Jack’s Box while attending his mother’s medical appointments in Salt Lake City. During that time he saw a lot of people who were financially struggling.

“I saw that, and at a young age I wanted to help them,” Pharaoh said.

He had also assisted a friend in elementary school by packing a school lunch. And then, at about age 9, he founded Jack’s Box. Through Jack’s Box people can anonymously get the help they need, Pharaoh said.

He’s still looking for new ways to help people. In late July, Pharaoh was awarded $250 by Honor Wyoming, a political activism group, based on an anonymous nomination for a Community Hero Spotlight. The $250 then goes to the hero’s organization of choice, in this case, Downrange Warriors — a veteran-focused nonprofit out of Cody.

Downrange Warriors’ mission is to prevent suicide by military and law enforcement veterans through outdoor activity, groups, courses and meetings.

“I’ve kind of known the people who were a big part of Downrange Warriors for a while, and I knew what they did for a long time,” Pharaoh said. “Through Jack’s Box, I helped veterans a lot.”

Helping veterans has always been one of his passions. During the holiday season, Pharaoh aids the veteran community as well as others by creating Thanksgiving and Christmas boxes that contain all the ingredients for a meal. 

He’s also seen how effective Downrange Warriors has been at assisting area veterans.

“I’ve always wanted to help in that way, because they help a lot with preventing veteran suicide and getting service dogs and things like that for them, and that’s two big problems with veterans is not only suicide rates, but it’s also poverty and things like that,” Pharaoh said. “So I’ve been trying to help with the financial situation for a long time, but the other situation is suicide rates and mental health, and they kind of help with that a lot, and I really respect them.”

Pharaoh does not yet know what the money will be used for, but in the meantime he will be lending a hand in Downrange Warrior’s efforts.

To learn more about Jack’s Box and how it helps the local community, visit Jack’s Box on Facebook.

More information about Honor Wyoming can be found at honorwyoming.org or on its Facebook page at Honor Wyoming. And more information on Downrange Warriors can be found at downrangewarriors.org.