Arkansas Reel Recovery Float Fundraiser
Ken Richards will be solo rowing over 400 miles of the Arkansas River beginning in Fort Smith at Noon on March 27, 2010. He will be using a 14 ? foot Hyde drift boat. He will row to the Mississippi River and from there shuttle back to Tulsa, OK and row from Tulsa to Fort Smith. This journey should take about three weeks. Ken will be stopping at cities such as Russellville, Little Rock and Pine Bluff along the river and holding media events to talk about Reel Recovery. In 2009 Ken and Kevin Calhoun rowed 200 miles on the Buffalo River and the King?s River.
Ken is a Stage 4 throat and tongue squamous cell carcinoma survivor who was diagnosed in June 2005. He attended a Reel Recovery retreat in 2007, but had to go to Indiana. After that experience he had to bring Reel Recovery to Arkansas. He is now the Mid-South coordinator for Reel Recovery encompassing Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
Last year the first retreat was held in October at Cedarwood Lodge on the White River near Flippin, AR. Fifteen men from six states attended the retreat and over 25 volunteers helped with the event. This year we are holding two retreats in Arkansas and hope to impact close to 30 men. The retreats will be in April and October.
Last year we raised $10,000 and this year we need to raise $30,000 to put on the two retreats and help national with expanding the retreats to reach other men not serviced by an existing retreat. Donations and scholarships are needed. Volunteers are always welcome and we definitely need participants.
Reel Recovery is a non-profit organization that provides fly fishing retreats for men with life threatening cancer. It was founded in 2003 by three friends after one was diagnosed with brain cancer. Fly fishing helped relieve some of the stresses with dealing with cancer. These 2 ? day retreats are free to the men that attend. Since the beginning there have been over 80 retreats and over 900 men have attended. Participants, volunteers and donations are needed for the retreats that are all over the United States. Participant and volunteer along with donation forms can be found online at www.reelrecovery.org.
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