President of Paddle For Life Blanche Grimes presents a check for $22,500 to Ron Abbey, president of the Clark County Veterans Assistance Center.
Dragon Boat charity organization Paddle For Life recently presented the Clark County Veterans Assistance Center (CCVAC) with a $22,500 check from the summer boat race fundraiser Paddle For Life, despite never venturing out on the water.
Amid water quality concerns on July 13, the Paddle For Life fundraising event was forced to turn its water-racing paddle event into a land party at Vancouver Lake Regional Park. Regardless of this turbulence, the organization raised more money than organizers initially envisioned and presented the CCVAC with the largest check in Paddle For Life history.
“We will use the money to help Southwest Washington and Oregon veterans with basic needs and extraordinary needs that most people take for granted,” CCVAC Executive Director Judy Russell said in a news release. “We are so very appreciative.”
Despite the change from a water to a land event, Paddle For Life President Blanche Grimes said the event was a success.
“We are tickled pink at the level of support Paddle For Life received for our big event, as well as the wonderful community spirit that the event generated,” she said in a news release.
Nearly three-dozen community and competitive teams had signed up to participate in the Dragon Boat races at Vancouver Lake on July 13. However, the day before the competition was to start, public health officials advised against permitting participants to paddle due to the high levels of cyanotoxins caused by blooms of blue-green algae.
The water quality didn’t stop Paddle For Life from pulling off the event as Dani Kala, coach for the Vancouver-based dragon boat team Catch-22, hosted a land party with running and walking games, a trivia contest and a toilet paper unrolling competition.
“We pulled the proverbial rabbit out of the hat,” Grimes said in the news release. “Yes, we were sad we couldn’t paddle, but we all had fun and best of all, we collected a very respectable amount of money for our veterans.”
