Surfers Healing has been a beneficiary of the SEA Paddle NYC for each of our 9 years. Each year, we are privileged to see their work firsthand at the Annual Beach Bash. Their partner in this event is another SEA beneficiary, Autism Family Services of NJ. Each September, we share in the joy and triumphs experienced by the kids and their families. Here’s a quick look at what they do….
What if riding the waves meant changing the world? At Surfers Healing, their mission is to enrich the lives of people living with autism by exposing them to the unique experience of surfing. Though they serve thousands, that mission exists because of one child. Israel and Danielle Paskowitz founded Surfers Healing because of their son, Isaiah. Isaiah has autism, and when he struggled with meltdowns and sensory overload, riding the waves with his father calmed him like nothing else.
Not everyone has a championship surfer for a Dad (bummer!), so the Paskowitz family invited others to join them at the beach. Their idea caught on, and now they’re a nationwide, grassroots non-profit organization. They are the original surf camp for children with autism and offer all their surfing events at no charge to the families.
They had 4,500+ participants at their surf camps last year – and even though autism now affects 1 in 68 US children – they don’t think in thousands. They think in ones, because that’s where they effect change.
One child. One family. One perfect day at the beach.