Photo Credit: Raj Hajela, East Bay Regional Park District
On a beautiful day in mid-May, the boys couldn’t stop horsing around. Running on the soft sand close to the lake’s edge and shoving each other playfully, they just couldn’t stay still. But when the boys began fishing, aided by scores of volunteers, park staff, parents, and grandparents, they settled down and became focused on their lines until the moment they caught a fish and the jubilant boasting began. The Special Kids Derby was in full swing.
Since 1983, the East Bay Regional Park District in Alameda and Contra Costa counties in California has coordinated hundreds of Special Kids Derbies to provide opportunities to children with special needs and disabilities and to help those in disadvantaged situations “discover outdoor activities” in the district’s regional parks.
Making An Impact
“I figure we have impacted between 30,000 and 35,000 kids over the 31 years the Special Kids Derby program has been running,” says Jim Grassi, an author, national motivational speaker, and founder of the program. He is the owner and president of Let’s Go Fishing Ministries and its sister corporation, Let’s Go Fishing Productions, a charitable foundation that sponsors and facilitates the derbies. His foundation also provides the equipment and the volunteers who lend their expertise in teaching the fine points of fishing.