Take a Soldier Fishing

[Fisterfam]

Hello all. I guess I will be the first to start this off if they will have me.

My wife and I run a non profit public charity called Combat Warrior Crisis Network. A department of our organization is www.takeasoldierfishing.com . It is pretty self explanitory and if you would like to offer your boat to service members and take them fishing then please feel free to post your offer. The site is open to any service meber from any branch that has ever raised their right hand for our country. Please do not limit yourself to just fishing though as there are many ways to to tell a service member thank you wether its by hunting or golfing or raising money to send a family to a major theme park. There are so many different ways to say thank you its crazy. At least this way you know where your money or donation is going.

If you like this idea or program then please feel free to donate. If you have product or a service that you wish to donate then please feel free to contact my wife or myself. Since we are a public charity we can offer you a 100% tax deduction for your donation.

We are currently in need of operating capital.

We are also looking for Fly Fishing equipment and Fly Tying Materials to support one of our representatives that is currently teaching soldiers from Ft. Hood how to tie flies and takes them fishing to catch fish on their own flies. He does this on his own and with his own money. I would like to help him as much as we can to keep his program going.

We are currently offering decals for a $5 donation.

The decals are $5.00 each for the 9" x 3"


We can do a custom order decal of any size or color but you will need to contact us for a price quote.

The decals that we have are high quality, silver vinyl. They are great for your boat, truck, car or anything you wish to stick them on. They are not like a bumper sticker but are individual letters. Here are some more pictures.







If you have any questions please feel free to contact me or my wife.

mike@takeasoldierfishing.com
dena@takeasoldierfishing.com

If you wish to donate to this great cause then please go here!
Thank you for your support!

http://www.takeasoldierfishing.com/b...sp?FORUM_ID=89

[ledhead36]

Welcome to the site, and thanks for helping the soldiers, too many are forgotten.

[Fisterfam]

thank you ledhead. I have found it to be my therapy. I love the smiles and the endless stories, that is what keeps me going. Have a good night. Mike

[bunkerjoe4]

Hello Mike and welcome to the site!

I wanted to take this opportunity to speak a little about Mike Nashif, SSG. Our members may not know this, but he is one of the first people to promote the "Take a Soldier fishing" program.

As I understand it, he started his website back in 2001, and copyrighted the original idea.

Prior to that, I'm sure that several people wanted to help our returning, active, and disabled soldiers.

However, in many instances there were fractionalized systems in place. One guy in one state, helping a few, and getting recommendations. Another few guys in another state, helping here and there. And so on.

All the people involved in the efforts to help make the lives of returning soldiers better, all the way back to WWI, should be commended.

They all did things that 90% of us were not aware needed to be done.

Mike, as I understand it, was one of the earlier pioneers in this movement. It was through his incentive and efforts that a national, centralized registry was established and organized to take these ideals to the next level - to bring this gift of fishing, or help, to all soldiers who were interested.

As I understand it, in the last few years, there have been many organizations, websites, and groups that have gotten involved and branched out on the local level all over the US.

That's a beautiful thing - that so many individuals of different backgrounds could come together and decide to start grassroots movements to help our soldiers.

All these volunteers, and their participants, helped to create goodwill and fellowship that stretched beyond the US military bureaucracy.

This fellowship of different citizens from different backgrounds has helped thousands of soldiers have a few hours or a day away from the stress of being soldiers and protecting our country.

So I again salute all who have made any effort toward helping soldiers.

The reason I got involved is that I mever met Mike, but through his posts and communications, I have seen him to be a humble guy. I believe him to be fully committed to his "take a soldier fishing " goals and putting the good of the soldiers above all else.

He has managed to do this while he has had 2 deployments as active military.

To me, this is amazing. I know for me, running this website takes up tremendous amounts of my time. I salute Mike for being able to keep it running while he was deployed. It must have been incredibly tough.

I have been to his website, and it seems to me pretty straightforward -- you join the forums, post an interest in taking a soldier fishing, and he or they contact you to set the trip up.

Granted, sometimes it seems like it makes more sense on a local basis, and that's probably why so many grassroots organizations and websites have decided to go forward on their own.



*************************
However, after thinking about it and reading some of Mike's beliefs, I think his centralized idea makes sense for the following reasons:

1. Organization and efficiency -- As more people get involved, different folks can offer different things, such as money, or donating supplies or fishing equipment for these soldiers to use. I think a centralized location makes more sense for these goals.

2. I can't speak for him, but I think he would be willing to link up with sites all over the country and provide a more efficient flow of information, thereby ensuring that more guys got to go on fishing trips.

3. Some have questoned his motives, and that's understandable for any person running a site where money is accepted.

My only response to you is this: If you have any doubts about him at all, go to his site, look at the testimonials, read the stories of people he has helped, and then make your own decisions.

4. Growth in target activities - he has mentioned not only fishing, but hunting, and other activities. Anyone who can help soldiers enjoy a few hours or an afternoon participating in any outdoors sporting activities should contact him with ideas and suggestions.


Here is a guy -- a soldier -- whose big dream it was many years to help his fellow soldiers in as many ways possible. I am honored to speak up for his site, and will try to help him any way I can.

To that end, I know how some websites are picky about mentioning other websites, competition concerns.

[I would invite anyone who reads the message here to go to other websites and put a link to Mike's site:

www.takeasoldierfishing.com on those sites.]



I am asking you to not include links to this site in this instance.

Just explain the program, ask if people are interested in helping, and paste the link directly to Mike's site.

I cannot thank our soldiers enough for the effort and sacrifices they make to keep our country and people safe.

Thank you all for reading this, and a giant "Thank you!" to Mike and others for their efforts.

[Fisterfam]

Thank you for the kind words. Now that we are a non profit organization and people see the scope of my wife and my dream they want to get their hands into it and call it their own. By all means you can. Start your own chapter, the only thing that i am asking of you is that you use our site to organize it. That's it. Thank you for the support. Feel free to ask me any questions that you have pertaining to our site and our mission. Thanks Mike

[clamchucker]

Thank you for all you have done for our soldiers, Mike. It must be tough being deployed and running things at the same time. I visited your site, looks like you have helped a lot of people. Thanks for your service, and keep up the good work.

[bunkerjoe4]

I would like to invite anyone who was interested in this thread to go to the Take a soldier fishing website.

http://www.takeasoldierfishing.com

All organizations need contributions to keep them running and help further their goals. Combat Warrior Crisis Network is no different.

Although I am still researching all they have done, I can encourage others to go their site and conduct their own research.

If you are not able to personally participate in taking a soldier fishing, your tax-deductible contribution can still help to make a difference. Look at what they have accomplished thus far, and make your own decisions. Thank you - bunkerjoe

[Fisterfam]

Combat Warrior Crisis Network legally became a non profit on August 1, 2008. Take a Soldier Fishing has been around a while. Right now our biggest contribution that we have been able to accomplish is the Ft Hood fishing program. In short we take 40 soldiers at a time to different lakes across Texas. We just completed our 7th trip this year at Lake Lewisville near Dallas. The surrounding communities have come together to show these soldiers support and put together a great event. Our biggest problem so far with these trips is securing transportation for these soldiers on a regular basis. Recently we have been told that we can no longer use government transportation for these trips because it is not "official business". Everything else has come together nicely. Our goals with this program is to be able to expand to other military installations and create programs for their areas as well. This allows soldiers the opportunity to get out of their rooms and away from base. If we can keep one soldier from thinking about suicide or from thinking too much about their deployments then we have done our job. We have also been told that we may have even found an alternative medicine for PTSD rather than taking more pills. Our first intention was just to take these soldiers fishing, it has become so much more to these soldiers. Thanks Mike

[BassBuddah]

Combat Warrior Crisis Network legally became a non profit on August 1, 2008. Take a Soldier Fishing has been around a while. ...

. If we can keep one soldier from thinking about suicide or from thinking too much about their deployments then we have done our job. We have also been told that we may have even found an alternative medicine for PTSD rather than taking more pills. Our first intention was just to take these soldiers fishing, it has become so much more to these soldiers. Thanks Mike

My uncle was in Nam, doesn't talk about it much, but a lot of guys who came back then were effed up in the head.

Any program that trys to help this is a cool one, thanks.

[cracklepopper]

Looks like a very good program, nice work.

[Fisterfam]

Thank you and we are trying!! Having been deployed 2 times myself, I understand what these soldiers go thru on a daily basis. Whether its by themselves or with a spouse. If I wasn't married to a stubborn woman that loved me more than I love myself then I wouldn't be married or living the dream of helping service members. The Ft. Hood fishing program is just the beginning.... Thanks again Mike

[DarkSkies]

Hey Joe, this is a c&p of threads I have been starting on the sites I belong to. Per your request, there is no mention of your site in it, just a direct link to Mike's site.

I did put in my e-mail in case any active duty soldiers in this area are up for a night of surf fishing.

Great idea, great site.

________________________

Just putting it out there in case anyone is interested. There are quite a few programs out there, but this guy started "Take a soldier fishing" back in 2001 and copyrighted it with the intention of making it onto a nationwide program.

The guy, Mike Nashif, is an active-duty soldier.

He runs this program as a national legally recognized charitable organization to connect people who want to take soldiers fishing with active-duty soldiers who are home on leave, or want to go fishing.

If anyone wants to join or register, or send a contribution, they can go to www.takeasoldierfishing.com

and check it out for yourself.

They have forums for each state. (When you get to that area, just click on your state, and let them know if you want to volunteer time or service taking soldiers fishing)

There are other programs around here that have developed and run with Mike's original idea, and that's cool. But I registered at Mike's site because he is a soldier helping fellow soldiers. He has had 2 active-duty deployments while he was trying to run this site, and it's amazing all the resources and support people have given him once they have seen what he's about.

As for me, I don't have a boat. But I can offer to take any active duty soldiers coming to the NJ area out for a night of surf-fishing. I can't promise any fish, but I will run your asses ragged at the most reliable spots I know and give you a decent shot at getting a fish.

Active soldiers can contact me at striperholic@yahoo.com if you have an interest.

Thanks to all the soldiers who are keeping our country safe every day, freedom isn't free.

[Fisterfam]

Thank you DarkSkies! Very nice and our goal is to spread the word just as you have. If we can get the word out to the service members then the boaters will follow. We are working on the service members from our end thru MWR and the different Public Affairs offices. Eventually it will get there! Especially with support like this. Thank you very much. Mike

[fishinmission78]

Great work there, Mike, keep it going!
Dark, nice gesture on your part as well.

[Fisterfam]

DarkSkies - You have been busy! I see your posts all over the place now. Please send me an email with your address in it. We are going to send you a free decal just for your support/efforts! Thank you very much. We don't have much to give but every little bit of support that we get from people such as yourself goes a long way! Thank you.

I would also like to mention that Stripers and Anglers is now on our sponsors page as a supporting website! Thank you BunkerJoe and the people of this site!

Mike

[nitestrikes]

Just saw this and wanted to say I think it's a very cool thing. Soldiers defend our country, some give their lives, and may not come home. Freedom isn't free. Thank you Mike and the others for all you do.

[DarkSkies]

Bump for the soldiers, thanks for all you do and the sacrifices you make.

[CharlieTuna]

Joe,

So glad to see that you are promoting this. It really seems to have taken off for the organizers of this wonderful program.

Thanks To Corporal, Soldiers Heal By Going Fishing


Joel Thomas
ARLINGTON (CBS 11 News) ―
At the Fishing and Hunting Show in Arlington, where consumers shop for the tools to land a trophy fish, one man asked for donations to help soldiers reel in their lives.

Fort Hood Army Corporal Alexander Armor takes soldiers, physically and emotionally wounded in combat, fishing when they return to the United States.

Professional fishermen volunteer their time and equipment to the program called simply, 'Take A Soldier Fishing'.
"Without the support of the community and individuals none of these trips would work," Armor said. "But we've had an outstanding response. And it makes these soldiers realize how much people do care. And it gives them a therapy. Being outdoors helps them."
Cpl. Armor set up a booth to collect donations at the Fishing and Hunting Show. Nestled between vendors selling hunting and fishing supplies, Armor's booth had a simple computer screen with a slideshow of photographs. There are images of deployed soldiers in camouflage uniforms posing as a group, many with the somber weary faces that come from combat.

As the slideshow continues, the image fades and is replaced by a picture of men standing on a boat holding a long stringer, with several fish hanging from it. They are smiling and their eyes sparkle.

Armor says the fishing trips have a huge impact on people, even on a soldier who hadn't smiled and hardly spoken for six months after his return from combat.
"As soon as his foot touched that boat you saw a grin crack on the corner of his lip," Armor said of the demeanor of the soldier. "And we drove by him later on the water and he was grinning ear to ear and he was laughing, talking to these people, reeling in nice little fish. And from that day on he's had a positive outlook on life. He's smiling every day. [It's] all from one fishing trip. It's a way to remind them they're human. Remind them that the world isn't out to get them anymore. And that they can actually enjoy and live their life."
In 2008, 'Take A Soldier Fishing' took more than 300 soldiers on fishing trips.

Take A Soldier Fishing is a non-profit organization and can be reached at 678-779-5700.

http://cbs11tv.com/watercooler/Take.....2.905156.html

[DarkSkies]

I have been busy and have not had a chance to post this. Basically letting you guys know Mike Nashif has been thinking of creative ways to help wounded soldierrs other than fishing. I thought it was pretty cool, so I'm passing it along. for Mike, his wife, and their group. I'm listed on that site as someone who will take solders surf fishing in NJ, so hit me up if ya know an active soldier who wants to go when we start catchin some fish in the Spring.


"Here is a video I made for Independence Fund and CWCN. I have also included pictures of the recent bike ride to deliver the free bikes to the wounded soldiers that Independence Fund raised money for. We rode almost 30 miles to deliver the bikes to the soldiers. It would have been a whole lot easier to put them in the back of a pickup and dropped them off. What is the fun in that??? Enjoy and pass it around. Mike"






pictures:
http://picasaweb.google.com/fistfam/Fthoodride

[buckethead]

I'm glad you guys are doing this here. There was a thread on another site, it started out decent, but then it deteriorated when Mike came on and explained he was the original guy who started these programs and copyrighted his program. Now there's nothing wrong with other programs, as far as I'm concerned they should be in every state if that's what it takes to increase contacts to take the soldiers fishing. That's what it's all about isn't it? These guys came in and criticized this guy, Mike, just for talking about his program. There is so much judgement and critisizm sometimes that you get sick of reading the posts. Great job, guys.