September 7, 2016 La Plata, MD – Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert A. McDonald today announced the awarding of grants for adaptive sports programs for disabled Veterans and disabled Servicemembers of the Armed Forces. We are honored to announce that Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing was selected as a $248,000 grant recipient to fund on-going programmatic activities, fly fishing outings, and volunteer training.“We are honored to partner with so many organizations across the country to provide adaptive sports programs where our Veterans live,” said Secretary McDonald. “Adaptive sports gives freedom to those who have fought for our freedom, and empowers Veterans to believe in themselves and to let go of what others may see as limitations.”
The Grants for Adaptive Sports Programs for disabled Veterans and Members of the Armed Forces (ASG Program) provides grant funding to organizations to increase and expand the quantity and quality of adaptive sport activities disabled Veterans and members of the Armed Forces have to participate in physical activity within their home communities, as well as more advanced Paralympic and adaptive sport programs at the regional and national levels.
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing (PHWFF) will utilize this grant to continue providing their top-tier therapeutic program to over 200 Programs across the United States. The PHWFF program provides basic fly fishing, fly casting, fly tying and rod building classes, along with clinics participants ranging from beginners who have never fished before, to those with prior fly fishing and tying experience who are adapting their skills to their new abilities. In 2015 alone, 3,516 Program Volunteers served over 7,000 injured and disabled veterans by dedicating more than 200,000 hours of service by offering 3,460 Fly Tying Classes, 944 Rod Building Classes, 1,082 Casting classes, and 1,316 fishing outings.
PHWFF is unique in that their volunteers are teaching classes on an on-going, long term basis. It is much more than a one-time fishing trip. For many participants, particularly disabled veterans, the socialization and camaraderie of the classes are just as important as the fishing outings, and provide them a new activity and community.
You can learn more about the VA Adaptive Sports Grant by visiting:
www.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=2816
See a complete list of recipients by visiting:
www.va.gov/adaptivesports/docs/2016_Adaptive_Sports_Grant_Recipients.pdf