Ocean Mind helps ride waves of release

SURFING is more than a hobby for some, it’s a natural way to release the stressors of life and something not-for-profit organisation Ocean Mind knows all about.

Founder Rachael Parker said they run a six-week surfing program for kids with disabilities and mental health issues and were in the process of raising funds to purchase their own equipment.

“During our surfing program the kids receive one-on-one mentoring and learn to surf with one of our trained volunteers. There are 10 volunteers in each program that we choose from a pool of 35 current mentors,” Ms Parker said.

“We launched a new GoFundMe page about three weeks ago and are hoping to be able to purchase ten boards.

“At the minute we have to engage a commercial surf school and pay for their instructors and surf board hire and pay our surf club the fees to hire boards and wetsuits.

“The response so far has been fantastic, we’ve already raised over $500, which is enough for one board.”

Ms Parker said they had run five successful programs since their launch in November 2016, frequenting the beaches of Anglesea, Urquhart Bluff and Bancoora.

“The kids have been really engaged, they absolutely love it and around 80 per cent end up joining the surf club so they can continue surfing and maintain the support of their mentors,” she said.

“For me surfing is a really healing experience and a healing relationship, I find with my own mental health it helps me get clarity and peace. I use it to help me in my own headspace and I think it’s really great to be able to offer that to young people that are experiencing some difficulty as well.”

For more information and to donate, go to gofundme.com/surfsmiles.