Keeping it Simple
By Tim Stouder & Katie Blunk
The goal of HOW has always been to “Keep It Simple.” It’s not about what we are having for lunch that day. It’s not about having the top of the line kayaks or fishing equipment. It’s not about having a professional fishing captain to take someone right to the “honey hole” or even the promise of catching something at every event. It’s not about the free swag and giveaways that may happen. It’s simply about getting butts in seats.
Our main goal is to keep it simple by getting a Veteran and/or First Responder into a kayak. From there, we simply let them figure out what comes after that. Maybe they need to just sit in the silence, feel the sun on their skin and the rocking of the kayak. Maybe they need to get some physical action going by paddling around and getting any pent up anxiety out. Possibly they want to work on casting, using soft baits, tying knots, bring a fish home for dinner. Perhaps they need to talk to their volunteer guide, talk about some frustrations they’ve been having, or frankly talk about anything but what they are going through at the time. Everyone has their own reason to be at an event. Regardless of what the Veteran/First Responder choses to get out of their experience with HOW, they always reap some sort of benefit that can simply be defined as “Priceless.”
We wanted to stress to our donors, our supporters, and our volunteers the impact that they truly have within the HOW world. Thank you for your support throughout the year, each hour given, each event that you participate in, lunch you help to provide, equipment you help to repair and purchase. Thank you for what you do to deliver this experience.
We will be having our first event on February 11th at Palm Valley Outdoors, underneath the 210 bridge (377 S. Roscoe Rd. Ponte Vedra, FL). Palm Valley Outdoors will be sponsoring the bait, ice, and providing lunch for the Feb event. Our March event registration will be posting this coming weekend on eventbrite. The date is March 11th and will take place at Guana Preserve. We are still looking for a restaurant, group, or whomever to sponsor the lunch for March at this time.
About Heroes on the Water
Heroes on The Water is a non-profit organization that helps injured service members with their physical and mental recovery using the therapeutic qualities of fishing from kayaks. Every HOW event across the country brings together wounded military personnel for guided kayak fishing excursions. Founded in 2007, HOW has served more than 42,794 wounded Veterans and their family members. The service is provided to the Veterans for free. HOW is a non-profit organization under IRS Code Chapter 501(c)(3). Donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. Visit www.HeroesOnTheWater.org.
If you are a Veteran, know of one that would like to participate, or if you are interested in volunteering or any other questions please contact northeastflorida@heroesonthewater.org.
If you would like to follow us on Facebook or make a donation to Heroes on the Water, you can do so at https://www.facebook.com/HeroesOnTheWaterNortheastFloridaChapter.