In a little over six months, the newly established New Jersey Chapter of Heroes on The Water has really come a long way. These military veterans have not only established their new chapter, they are now viewed by the National leadership team as one of the model chapters for the rest of the country. This is quite an achievement and testament to all the tremendous volunteers in the Garden State. The progress they have already achieved is quite impressive, as you can see by the following summary of accomplishments:
In March, NJHOW founded their chapter and built out the leadership team. (They still have one formal role open if someone would be willing to accept the position.)
From March through June they worked on event planning, building up a base of volunteers, created a chapter Facebook page, and made progress towards finding wounded veterans. They currently have a database of over 60 volunteers and the list comprises a “who’s who” of kayak fisherman in NJ.
Relationships have been established with key contacts at Lyons VA Hospital and JAFB McGuire/Dix, and both are on board with the program and helping to promote and coordinate outings.
%pullstart%In a little over six months, these military veterans have not only established the NJ HOW chapter, they are now viewed by the National leadership team as one of the model chapters for the rest of the country.%pullend%With the State of NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife they successfully received an exemption letter, so that fishing licenses are NOT required for any of the veterans at the freshwater events.
In April, the NJ leadership team attended the Susky Flats Kayak tourney in Maryland, which raised money and awareness for both the Maryland and NJ chapters. It was a highly successful event and will be an annual event going forward.
In June members attended Joint Base Maguire/Dix/Lakehurts (JBMDL) to host a HOW booth promoting the program as part of a veteran’s services day organized by the base.
In July the first HOW NJ chapter outing was held at Port Monmouth, NJ. They took seven veterans and the Rec. Therapist from Lyons VA hospital fluke fishing. This event was highly successful with great feedback and the VA has since asked for more events and to increase the number of veterans attending at each event.
Also in July, the East Coast Kayak Fishing (ECKF) fluke tournament was held, with a portion of the proceeds donated to the NJ HOW chapter.
An August 11 event was held at Spruce Run Recreation Area in Clinton NJ. HOWNJ hosted eight veterans from Lyons VA, plus one walk-in veteran. Not a lot of fish were caught but everyone had a great time and they had had volunteers travel from across PA to attend. One, in particular, drove seven hours to join the fun.
On September 1 at Sandy Hook NJ, eight veterans from Lyons VA and one walk-in veteran were in attendance. Despite some strong chop early and, logistically, this being the toughest launch location, this was the most successful event of the season. Everyone had a great time. Lots of fish were caught and tons of laughs were shared together over a delicious barbecue.
Lyons VA hospital is extremely pleased with the program. So much so that they would like more events added in 2013. They have asked if the chapter would consider doing an overnight kayak camping outing, and possibly look into applying for a grant to help with camping equipment.
Look for upcoming events on the chapters Facebook page as they are being added rather quickly as the organization grows.
HOW NH hopes to a self-sufficient chapter and members are currently working on an operating budget for 2013. This past year, the organization had to bootstrap and rely on wonderful volunteers to provide most of the equipment (kayaks, rods, reels, pfd’s, food, and drink). In 2013, they hope to have funds for a fully rigged kayak trailer with up to 12 fully outfitted kayaks. This will solve many issues. The Chapter plans on attending several trade shows, including Paddlesport, to raise awareness for HOW, find new volunteers and veterans, and fundraise for the chapter.
As they improve public relations and communications, leaders of this new chapter would like to do a better job promoting the group within the local media to help promote outings and provide articles afterward. This should help spread the word about HOW and help with finding more veterans, volunteers and, potentially, chapter sponsor(s)/donors.
To date, Lyons VA has only opened the program up to their inpatient physically whole veterans. Next year, they will be opening it up to their physically disabled unit and out-patient veterans. They would also like to find access to smaller more secluded private lakes and ponds that will give the veterans a better chance to land some fish in a more peaceful and relaxed setting. One of the goals of HOW is to incorporate family members in outings. This is both from a volunteer and veteran perspective. Next year they would like to open things up more so that family members can help to volunteer, or just to hang out. The same holds true with our veteran’s family members.
In order to meet these lofty goals for 2013, HOWNJ would like to setup volunteer committees. These committees should not require a lot of time and they will be designed to share the workload across three to five people. The goal of HOWNJ is to have enough volunteers that if one or two people get too busy, either at work or at home, others can pick up the slack and keep pressing forward.
HOW NJ would like to thank its supporters for everything they have done to date, and they hope people will continue to join and help grow the NJ chapter .With your support and some teamwork, the organization’s goal of helping our nation’s heroes heal via kayak fishing is becoming a reality.
If you have any suggestions for the organization, want more information, would like to volunteer or can offer support in some way, contact:
Matt Williams
NJ Heroes on the Water Chapter Coordinator
NJ@HeroesOnTheWater.org
908-866-1896
https://www.facebook.com/HeroesOnTheWaterNewJerseyChapter
http://heroesonthewater.org/home
