We keep Paddle for Life going, quite simply, because we adore the sport of dragon boating! Dragon boating is inclusive: younger, older, larger, smaller, LGBTQ+, cis-gender, blind, sighted, visually impaired, hearing, deaf—and if you are a survivor of breast cancer, the dragon boating community really loves you! If you never thought of yourself as an athlete, guess what? You CAN be on a dragon boat team. If you are missing a sense of community in your life, joining a dragon boating team means you instantly have at least 19 fellow paddlers who have your back.
We also do it to support the good work of charity groups operating in our community of Clark County Washington. This year’s beneficiary is Camp Mariposa, the local branch of a “national addiction and mentoring program for a youth impacted by a family member’s substance use disorder” (“Camp Mariposa”). Camp Mariposa operates as a branch of Lifeline Connections Vancouver. Many of us in Clark County know someone who got themselves stronger through working with Lifeline Connections. We want to help their kids get stronger, too.
Paddles up to Camp Mariposa!