May 4, 2006 | Read Time: 2 minutes
THE FACE OF PHILANTHROPY
When Israel (Izzy) Paskowitz took his son into the water for his first surfing lesson, Isaiah was kicking and screaming with all the intensity a 4-year-old can muster. But as soon as he got on the board, he calmed down and began to enjoy the feel of the waves.
“I felt I was doing something typical, just something that a father wants to share with his son,” says Mr. Paskowitz, a professional surfer who has been competing since 1983.
However, that first lesson was hardly typical. At age 3, Isaiah had been diagnosed with autism, and his perfect behavior was “really magic,” according to his dad.
Since 1999, Mr. Paskowitz has offered one-day surfing camps for other children with autism through Surfers Healing, his nonprofit group in San Juan Capistrano, Calif. This year, Surfers Healing will hold 12 sessions in California, Mexico, New York, North Carolina, and Texas.
Each session attracts approximately 100 children and their families. The children receive a half-hour lesson on a specialized tandem board with an instructor while the parents watch from the shore. Many of the youngsters are reluctant at first, but once they get on the boards, the transformation is remarkable, Mr. Paskowitz says.
For the families, the camps offer a respite from the daily battle of caring for an autistic child, and many return year after year.
“Everyone’s in the same boat out there and everybody understands,” he says. “There’s nothing but love and understanding when all our day-to-day lives are very difficult.”
The group recruits local surfers, most of whom are trained in CPR, first-aid, and lifeguarding regulations, to help run the events.
Registration for the 2006 camps opened on April 10, and Mr. Paskowitz reports that all 1,200 slots have already been filled. But he says he won’t turn any child away. Families do not pay for the sessions, so the camp relies entirely on gifts and revenue from Mr. Paskowitz’s surf-instruction business.
With an annual budget of $200,000, Surfers Healing has two full-time employees and 15 regular volunteers, some of whom travel with the camp.
