Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Inc., a volunteer, non-profit corporation, is dedicated to the physical and psychological rehabilitation of wounded active military service personnel and disabled veterans through fly fishing, fly tying education and outings. In the fulfillment of this mission, PHWFFI works with wounded active duty service personnel and veterans at Veterans Affairs hospitals, Department of Defense hospitals, and military transition units nationwide. Our activities are coordinated with military and hospital staff, and all services are provided without cost to participants.
We are proud of our accomplishments to date:
- Provided thousands of hours of classes throughout the United States in the basics of fly fishing, casting, fly tying, wading and rod building.
- More than 3,000 wounded veterans have participated in these classes.
- Many of the participants have developed the confidence and skill to help teach their peers.
- 500 veterans or active duty servicemen and women have participated in three, five and ten day fishing trips and approximately 2,500 vets have experienced one-day outings.
- We’ve worked with a variety of disabilities, both psychological and physical.
- Our ratio of program to overhead expenditure has been better than 80:20 for the last two years.
- Our program has been featured in major magazines, including The American Legion magazine and VAnguard, the official publication of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Our 2010 trip to the Big Horn River was featured on the TV show Fly Rod Chronicles and was so popular that it has been re-shown several times.
- Our 2010 national 2-Fly Tournament was also featured on Fly Rod Chronicles as were two Spruce Creek fishing trips and an inaugural PHWFFI event at Cherokee, North Carolina.
- Since Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing was established in 2005 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., we have grown to over 100 programs in 38 states and the District of Columbia.
- The sport of Fly-fishing has been approved as authorized physical therapy by the VA.
Our program is unique from other wounded warrior programs as we work with our local partners on weekly, Bi weekly or Monthly sessions. This depicts our commitment to our disabled veterans and wounded warriors. We tend to rely upon locally organized clubs such as Trout Unlimited chapters, Fly Fishing Federation clubs and other organized fishing groups, utilizing the existing network of concerned and committed fly fishers who populate those organizations to provide local, on site fly fishing classes for each type of facility in the military’s health system in the United States. Each program is managed at the local level with administrative support from headquarters staff.
Over the next five years our goal is to build the organizational capacity to manage more than 100 programs and to identify stable sources of financing for PHWFFI.
If you are interested in following what PHWFFI is accomplishing nationally or in your area, send us your email (see address below) and we will keep you updated regularly.
How can you help? (1) Sign up today to get our updates (2) Let us know if you want to help at one of our local programs. (3) Make a donation today. (4) Tell your friends about PHWFFI.
http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001LBos8BrBhyoHF1BeEcwqDw%3D%3D
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc.
PO Box 695, La Plata, MD 20646
www.projecthealingwaters.org
