On September 13^th, Senior Content Writer, Nick Jiorle, volunteered his time with the Surfers Healing project at the annual Belmar Beach Bash. The day is for children with disabilities, specifically those with Autism, and their families to come out and enjoy a fun day at the beach filled with activities, arts and crafts booths, informational vendors, beach games, music, and more! Surfers Healing is a group of professional surfers who travel around the country, taking children with Autism surfing. The instructors paddle them out into the ocean, and help them catch and ride a wave into shore, as you can see from the video below.

As an avid, lifelong surfer, this project is close to him for a number of reasons. Nick became involved with the project because of his experience working with children with developmental disabilities. As a substitute teacher, he was able to get to know the kids and understand the challenges that come with having a disability. He shares this passion with his mother who is a special education Kindergarten teacher.

His duty for the event was to get kids fitted with a life jacket, and then keep them occupied until a surfer was available. His favorite part was getting to interact with the kids, learn a little about them, and see the excitement that getting to ride a wave brought to them. Nick can attest to the pure enjoyment that riding a wave can bring to anyone, and watching the kids surf and enjoying the water was well worth it.

Besides great memories, Nick took away from the event that there are a lot of passionate people out there devoting their free time to helping others. He learned that the joy of surfing, or playing in the ocean knows no boundaries, and that everyone deserves a chance to experience it. He already knows for next year that he would like to volunteer for the whole day, instead of just half of it, because it went too fast.

For anyone who is considering doing a similar event, or volunteering your time, Nick says,

“Go for it. It’s such a little amount of time to give up, and it’s a great way to have a lot of fun, while brining a lot of joy to others.”

We’re very proud of Nick for volunteering his time in such a special way, and we’re sure the kids and organizers of the event truly appreciated it. To learn more about the Beach Bash click here, and check out some photos below!