Keith Passant tells about his work with the excellent Casting For Recovery charity.
So just what IS Casting for Recovery?
Well it’s a charity innit! Helps people dunnit!
Yeah but who and how? Well fisherwomen innit!
That’s generally how it starts. But there is so much more to it than that.
I have been raising funds for the charity for about five years now. That’s ever since a good friend of mines wife was diagnosed with breast cancer. I decided I would like to help a cancer charity under my rules and not be dictated to as to how the funds were used or distributed. That was what one charity demanded in their “Fund Raising Pack”. Nope not you then folks! I need to look elsewhere.
Just about the same time an article in one of the fly-fishing mags mentioned this new charity. It was a breast cancer support charity and was based around fly-fishing. My first contact with Casting for Recovery. I contacted them and got an “Oooh yes please” reply.
The next decision had to be how the money got raised.
Now I’m a sad sort. I frequent forums and chat rooms connected to fly-fishing. One of these was a forum called the Virtual Fly Box and was predominately USA based. I had been speaking to a great guy called Don Johnson who had done a fund raiser in the USA for kids with cancer. His idea was to tie flies for 24 hours. Now one thing I can do is tie flies. Not pretty, innovative or beautiful but I can tie flies. Sorted. I will tie flies for 24 hours then.
But where? And when? Fortunately Orvis came galloping to the rescue. The Orvis store manager in Burford, John Wilson, agreed that I could use the facilities there and with the help of the then fishing manager Alan Grunig the venue was sorted.
Early one morning...
The 1st support act! Dennis Shaw, Roy Christie and Dave Wiltshire with Sue Hunter and myself
That first event raised just about £1800 and we have since gone on from strength to strength year on year. The four year total is running around the £12000 mark so you get the idea that this is no game we are playing.
But what of the funds. What do they get used on?
Well they are used to help pay for what CfR call retreats. CfR UK and Ireland to give it its full name is a registered charity and runs between 5 and 7 retreats each year in England, Wales, Scotland Northern Ireland and ROI. Each retreat takes away up to 14 ladies that have applied to go on the retreat at no cost to the participant, whether they can afford to pay towards it or not.
The venue is generally at a still water with a lodge and “facilities” to keep the ladies comfortable. Every participant either has or has had breast cancer.
The retreats run from a Friday afternoon through to Sunday afternoon. The general idea is that on the Friday the participants arrive, get the meet and greet and are booked in at the accommodation. On the Friday evening there is a get together to introduce all the participants and the course details are outlined. That’s generally over dinner. Saturday see’s the folks doing a little bit of bug i.d., casting instruction and the obligatory health and safety. The kit is also issued. The kit consists of everything you need to fish. From snips up to fly rod and reel, waterproofs, hats, vests etc. etc. All is provided.
In addition to the fun side there is always the opportunity for the people taking part to talk to professional volunteer staff that are specialist’s in cancer care, be it nurses, psychologists or maybe the best people to talk to about this disease, each other. A full support team is on hand and they are all volunteers. And they are available 24 hours a day for the duration of the retreat.
So that’s Friday and Saturday sorted. Then come’s the real deal.
Sunday and the fishing!
I have had the honour of being invited to take part twice at a Sunday fishing day and I can tell you it’s a blast. The previous day and a half has just paved the way for a super mornings fishing. Catch or otherwise it’s great fun. Each of the participants have a “Fishing Guide” with them to help with the casting, the fishing, the knots, the flies and any other fishing related occurrence that may arise. You know like landing trout!
And the ladies have to be prised away from the water-side to have a break which the organisers insist on. Then it’s back to the fishing until it’s time to pack up and go to the late lunch. You know the “Just one more cast” type late right?
At the lunch the staff organise it so the ladies and the fishing guides all get to mingle, a decent feed and the ladies receive a goody bag and a certificate to say they survived the weekend. The guides get a certificate to say they survived the fishing!
Some participants from the retreats carry on the good work started over the weekend and continue fishing.
What the weekends do in addition is create friendships among the participants. They give the ladies a chance to meet breast cancer survivors and talk about their own experiences with the disease, the treatment, the outcome and the effect it has had on them, their families and friends.
What they all say about the retreats is that it has given them a different outlook on the disease and its outcome. And all agree that Casting for Recovery and the people that run it make a huge difference.
We should carry on supporting the good work don’t you think?
If you would like to help to support a fundraiser or donate then go to the CfR website www.castingforrecovery.org.uk and follow the link to the Donate button.
Or send your donation to:
Sue Shaw
16, Naseby Road,
Rugby,
CV22 5NH
Cheques made payable to Casting for Recovery UK & Ireland please or contact Sue Shaw by email on sue.shaw.cfr@gmail.com if you want to discuss other ways of generating funds.