ALWAYS a time to help

W

WWKimba1

Smolt
With the holiday season coming so comes the requests for giving. Here is a quick reminder about how we, as fly tyers, fishers and teachers can help out. There are many nonprofit/not for profit organizations that use fly fishing/fly tying/rod building as part of their recovery and support programs. I have donated flies for the past few years to Casting for Recovery and Project Healing Waters. Last year I tied 250 flies to match the 250 extras that I had accumulated from my various fly swaps for a 500 fly donation to the Casting for Recovery program (I'm retired and like to keep busy!).

Here are but a few of the programs that are looking for donations and volunteers to help support their programs. You can Google for others (try "fishing flies donation", "nonprofit organizations using fly fishing(or tying)"):

Casting for Recovery - https://castingforrecovery.org/retreats/

Project Healing Waters - https://projecthealingwaters.org/volunteer/ <--then go to SEARCH and type in your state to find the program in your area

Reel Recovery - https://reelrecovery.org/

Flyin' Heroes - https://flyinheroes.org/

The Mayfly Project - https://themayflyproject.com/get-involved/

Fishing Has No Boundaries - https://fhnbinc.org/about-us/

Take a Vet Fishing - https://www.takeavetfishing.org/

Warriors and Quiet Waters - https://warriorsandquietwaters.org/about-us/our-impact

Tie A Thon - https://warriorsandquietwaters.org/about-us/our-impact

These are but a few of the groups out there that can use the skills we as fly fishers, fly tyers, rod builders and teachers can provide. Most have sites located across the nation and some are more local/regional. See if there is one that perks your interest, contact them, and HELP OUT! I have been a volunteer or been in charge of volunteers for most of my life and I can say that it 1) enriches your life and 2) you get to meet some other great people! And helping out can be as easy as tying a dozen flies!

Hope this is informative to you all and please, you and your families have a happy holiday season and may the new year bring you new blessings!

Kim
 
I apologize in advance for my laziness in not simply going to those above links first, but I have several lower-end fly rods and reels that I'd like to give away to deserving folks. Is one of these better than others for this purpose?
 
I've worked with Project Healing Waters and Casting for Recovery before, it's been a while though.

I'm happy to donate my time with casting lessons and/or rod building lessons.

I can donate wine and some whiskey for fund raising.

I was a former IT guy and helped the Casting for Recovery women who were running the local chapter with web development and thier social media presence.

FlyBill

PS I'm happy to help the other groups as well, with donations. I can raise enough wine through winery friends to sink a small ship!
 
Driftless Dan said:
I apologize in advance for my laziness in not simply going to those above links first, but I have several lower-end fly rods and reels that I'd like to give away to deserving folks. Is one of these better than others for this purpose?
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Most actually will accept rod/reel donations. The only one NOT to contact would be the Tie a Thon group - they want flies only. Each group supports a different "specialty area" (active military, disabled vets, breast cancer sufferers/survivors, men with cancer, foster children, people with disabilities) so find a group whose interests most match yours and check them out. Most have an on-line form right on their site.

Hope this helps answer your question.

Kim
 
flybill said:
I've worked with Project Healing Waters and Casting for Recovery before, it's been a while though.

I'm happy to donate my time with casting lessons and/or rod building lessons.

I can donate wine and some whiskey for fund raising.

I was a former IT guy and helped the Casting for Recovery women who were running the local chapter with web development and thier social media presence.

FlyBill

PS I'm happy to help the other groups as well, with donations. I can raise enough wine through winery friends to sink a small ship!
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I just knew that there was something about you I liked, Bill! 😊
 
One other OBVIOUS site - Trout Unlimited! I have donated flies to their fund raisers. More than one chapter offers their chapter patch with flies attached and they usually offer them as a blind raffle item. Sometimes I think that the grey hair on my head is the grey matter from inside leaking out!

Kim
 
WWKimba1 said:
Most actually will accept rod/reel donations. The only one NOT to contact would be the Tie a Thon group - they want flies only. Each group supports a different "specialty area" (active military, disabled vets, breast cancer sufferers/survivors, men with cancer, foster children, people with disabilities) so find a group whose interests most match yours and check them out. Most have an on-line form right on their site.

Hope this helps answer your question.

Kim
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Thanks! That's perfect - in fact better, because I also have some salmon/steelhead flies I just don't use any more that I can perhaps give to Tie-A-Thon.
 
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