Catch The Wave

Imagine this. You are a 10 year old boy sitting on the cliffs of Santa Cruz, California with your dad watching the surfers on the Pacific Ocean. You are totally captivated. You want to feel the rush of the ocean, you want to know the power of a wave, you want to test yourself on a surf board, you want to tell your dad how you feel. But you can't tell your dad because you can't talk. And you can't go out to the beach because you can't walk either. This is what happened to a little boy named Brandon. He has cerebral palsy. But then something amazing happened. A mermaid came out of the water and walked up to Brandon. Ok, maybe she wasn't a real mermaid, but she was full of magic. She said, "Hey, I want to take you surfing." And Brandon's life was changed.

She was a pro surfer who was involved with this organization called Ride-A-Wave (RAW for short). These are all volunteers who work on the beaches of Santa Cruz and Malibu and work with kids who have cerebral palsy, cancer, blindness, downs syndrome, etc and give them the experience of a life time out on the ocean. Surfing is kind of a "me sport". You are on your board solo looking to catch the best wave all for yourself. But these folks are giving their best surfing days and best waves to these awesome kids. They have developed a system and a set of gear to safely get kids of any ability or disability up on a wave and surfing. Brandon doesn't need to talk for you to get what it feels like to surf. Just look at his face.

Julie is my oldest friend in the world. We have known each other since we met at overnight camp when we were 7 years old and have remained close ever since. She is also an amazing person with a huge heart. She's been working with special needs kids her whole life, has been a Ride A Wave volunteer for years, and she's been Brandon's helper and friend since he was a tot. She is following her film making passion and making a documentary all about Ride A Wave. She and two other folks working on the project have a goal of getting this film finished and on to the film festival circuit this year. They want to spread the word about Ride A Wave so that Ride A Wave can spread the love and teach folks in other coastal towns to do what they do with kids all over the world.

So they are raising funds to finish this documentary and get the film seen in film festivals and anywhere else they can spread the word. Please take a few minutes and visit their Kickstarter page and if you have some spare latte money this week consider donating to make this film a reality. And you'll help make Brandon a star too :)

Thanks! Here's the link http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1098385543/ride-a-wave-live-and-love-it-up