Many of you know Brian Shaw from his time with Coastal Adaptive Sports. If you've been around the adaptive surfing events, Wheel to Surf, whether as a participant or as a volunteer, you've likely seen him. Well, we'd like to bring this adaptive surfer into the light, even if it's just for a minute. We want you to get to know Brian's heart toward adaptive surfing and service in general.
Brian has been an adaptive surfer with Coastal Adaptive Sports' for only a few years. Having lost his eyesight as a premature infant, his first exposure to adaptive surfing was as a participant. He thanks Luke and Erin Sharp and Vann Horn for getting him set up with the right equipment so he could surf for the first time. He had spent plenty of time on horses in his life, but surfing was a little scary at first. Luke went with him and told him when the waves were coming. He loved it so much and became so moved by the benefit to people that he jumped in (pun intended) as a volunteer.
Brian would want anyone out there with disabilities to know it's okay to sign up and come out. The leadership and volunteers with the Wheel to Surf events are eager to help. So don't be shy. To potential volunteers, he would like to express just how much of a blessing it is to bless others. Many of the participants are willing to do activities; they just need an opportunity which volunteering enables. Adaptive surfing provides some often-needed normality and a challenge for the participants. Plus, the camaraderie among the volunteers, and also the surfers, is really special, Brian says. Serving here is a great way to make friends and widen your heart.
Brian is not a newbie to the world of volunteering. From a young age, he fell in love with horses and that love turned into a 13-year relationship with Dreamcatchers, an organization that provides therapy through interaction with horses. He has also been a participant and a volunteer with a bike riding organization, and he taught visually-impaired youth computer skills for seven years with Cisco Academy.
Having a servant's heart and a teacher's heart, Brian is exactly what you hope for in a program such as Coastal Adaptive Sports' adaptive surfing. But he, and all of us, would want you to know that you don't have to be a rock star like Brian Shaw to make a difference. According to Brian, when it comes to knowing if you should volunteer or not, he says, "If you can, you should."
Sign up to volunteer here. See some other spotlights as well as other blog posts here
Wanna get involved? You may also volunteer to help out with a Coastal Adaptive Sports event by clicking here.