Community Corner
Volunteers Take Youth Fishing
"This is the first time some of these kids have ever seen the ocean," says Thomas Barbie of 61st Street School during a fishing trip with youth.
In continuing a Southern California tradition since 1991, Ned Wallace, president and founder of Wallace Air Cargo Group has joined forces with the Philip Friedman Youth Outdoor Program to take hundreds of children out on the water.
The program has taken more than 50,000 youngsters fishing over the years, and now has stepped up the program with Wallace’s support.
Youth trips in prior years have included the all-girls orphanage Casa Estrella in Rosarito Beach, a Christmas trip for homeless adults and children with the Los Angeles Lakers and Laker Girls, a trip for bereaved children from New Hope in Long Beach, as well as thousands of other children who may never have had the opportunity to experience the local sea and outdoors.
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"I have been on many of Phil’s trips," said volunteer and journalist Pete Thomas of Pete Thomas Outdoors. "Every one of them is special in their very own way."
Thomas added the program gets youth outdoors in an age when most spend the majority of time indoors. Thomas also pointed out that it’s important that youth get out of their daily environment and see a whole new world.
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"Who knows, after one of these experiences a kid may become a marine biologist," he said.
Dr. Pete Hoffman of Loyola Marymount agreed.
"On the surface, these trips may seem like just another fishing trip but they can be more powerful and potentially life changing than that. This could be that fork in the road that stimulates a child into learning and being a good steward of the sea for years to come," Hoffman said.
More than 150 children from 61st Street School in Los Angeles were treated to a day on the water Tuesday.
"Is this really what the ocean looks like," asked one child during the trip. During the experience, the youngsters came upon a pod of dolphin.
"This is the first time some of these kids have ever seen the ocean," said Thomas Barbie of 61st Street School on Tuesday. "This is a day these children will remember forever."
Besides fishing, the students during the trip also witnessed the busiest harbor in the United States firsthand. They watched cargo ships being unloaded, saw giant tankers arriving with oil, and saw a massive pile of scrap metal being loaded on ships destined for Japan. The metal would ultimately return in the form of new cars.
Another group of children from Wilmington last week participated in a trip on the sport boat Westerly.
Fifteen-year-old Fidel Franco and 8-year old Alex caught giant blue perch off Point Fermin along with more than 10 other different species of fish.
In addition, Captain Jon Ackley took the group out to see a pod of dolphins he estimated to be more than 1,000 strong, along with a northbound gray whale.
Deborah Felix of Wilmington, who had a chance to take her children fishing for the first time along with her dad, said, "I felt happy and at peace on the trip … It was definitely great bonding time with my dad, boys and friends. I hope we can do it again soon."
If you would like to volunteer for a PFO/Wallace Air Cargo Group children’s trip, call 424-237-0250. The next trip is set for Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the Toronado out of Pierpoint Landing in Long Beach.