NEWS & STORIES
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Expands Limited In-Person Activities
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc (PHWFF) continues taking significant steps towards a gradual process to resume specific outdoor in-person program activities. Their process includes appropriate protocols designed to reduce the risk of transmission and infection of COVID-19 between the organization’s volunteers, participants, and staff. The in-person outdoor program activities began with a test group of 12 programs on March 13, 2021 and, following this successful test group, quickly expanded on April 1, 2021 to encompass all PHWFF programs nationwide.
The organization acknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic is a fluid, evolving situation. As the situation further develops, PHWFF will make assessments regarding future in-person meetings, activities, events, and outings and advance from phase to phase as outlined in their comprehensive re-engagement plan. PHWFF will make each decision using current healthcare industry data with participant, volunteer, staff, and community risk management and well-being remaining as their top priority – while they comply with local, state, and federal guidance and restrictions.
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing is a Maryland-based 501c(3) non-profit organization with over 220 programs across the United States serving over 9,500 disabled active duty military service personnel and disabled veterans annually. On March 13, 2020, PHWFF suspended in-person program activities and quickly pivoted to virtual programming to prevent further COVID-19 spread in the communities they serve and to protect the health and well-being of their volunteers and participants. The engagement plan represents the culmination of 8 months of effort by a working group composed of the organization’s volunteer leaders, headquarters staff, legal counsel, and insurance provider.
“I am happy to report to you that our working group worked diligently over the past eight months to produce an interim plan that we can implement nationwide, says President and CEO Todd Desgrosseilliers, “Although we will continue virtual core program activities indefinitely, we will also resume specific outdoor in-person activities through a gradual process. Our plan includes specific restraints and constraints designed to minimize the risk of COVID-19 transmission and/or infection to our participants, volunteers, and staff.”
“Our programs provide physical and emotional recovery, encourage engagement, and create a community where our participants can heal, says Desgrosseilliers, “Throughout this pandemic the dedication and commitment of our thousands of volunteers has ensured that we continued to hear these five words from vulnerable veterans across our Nation: ‘This program saved my life.’”