On a beautiful Saturday afternoon at Leesylvania, Va. State Park on the Potomac River about 25 miles south of the Nation’s Capital, Customs and Border Protection participated in the Second Annual Virginia CAST for Kids event.

During the September 8 event, 12 CBP employees and contractors, along with over 220 other volunteers and multiple sponsors, provided a very special day for 40 disabled children and their families from many Northern Virginia communities.

“CAST” stands for “Catch a Special Thrill.” The CAST For Kids Foundation was created to partner experienced fishermen with children with special needs and their parents for a morning of bass boat fishing and fun. This is followed by lunch, an awards ceremony, and other onshore activities for everyone to enjoy. Since the first CAST for Kids event in 1993, hundreds of events have been held in more than 30 States, impacting the lives of thousands of children forever.

In April 2006, I contacted the CAST for Kids Foundation to volunteer to coordinate the first-ever event in Virginia. With the ‘06 and ‘07 events now successfully behind us, I realize that it was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Several CBP employees and contractors

Photo Credit: Craig Beyers

generously donated their time and expertise at the September 8 event to assist the many participating children and their families. While the focus of the Virginia CAST for Kids event was to help the children “Catch a Special Thrill,” everyone who attended the event received so much more in return than they had thought possible. Said CBP volunteer Ray Strong after the event, “This is the first time I have ever aided in helping kids with special needs. There was no other place that I would have rather been this past Saturday…the event left a lifetime lasting impression on each and every one of those kids and the flip side of that is that it left a lasting impression on me.”

Seth, the parent of one of the child participants, perhaps best summed up the September 8 event when he wrote to me, “It was such a relief to be able to participate in a large event where we didn’t feel self-conscious about our son’s disabilities and where he was celebrated for being who he is. The purpose of the event was to put a smile on his face – and you sure succeeded! Our experience yesterday has inspired us to do more with our son and to get out and try new experiences.”

All CBP volunteers certainly left the event with smiles on our faces because we knew that we had helped to open up a brand new world for these children with special needs. Plus, we had helped to make their fishing wishes come true – thankfully, with the full cooperation of the fish.