WBHS surf club
West Broward Surf Club Raises Funds For Junior Surfrider Foundation
With 2012 gone, opportunities for new members of the Junior Surfrider Foundation open up as they gather on Deerfield Beach to raise money the charitable organization’s membership dues.
The Junior Surfrider Foundation is a sub division of the Surfrider Foundation, which began 25 years ago in Malibu, California. According to www.surfrider.org, the purpose of the foundation is the "protection and enjoyment of oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network." The Junior Surfrider Foundation is specific to Broward County; there is none other in the world.
"Being a part of the Junior Surfrider Foundation would mean so much to us as a club," President of Surf Club Ymke Franssen said. "It's a great opportunity for our club to be more than just a club to surf in, but it gives students the opportunity to do something more with their time and effort, something for a greater cause."
On Jan. 4, the West Broward High Surf Club met in the parking lot of Island Water Sports, a monetary donor to the club, for a viewing of Ben Hicks’ 2012 surfing experience. Ben Hicks is a photographer from Boca Raton, Florida who travels to the world’s best surfing locations to surf and photograph his experiences. With each photo, Hicks told a story of why he took the photo and what was occurring at the time.
“I really enjoyed his pictures,” sophomore Tiffany Stoltzfuz said. “It was so cool to see all of the exotic places he has been and all of the amazing waves he has surfed. One of my wishes in life would be to go to all of the places he has been to.”
Originally, Franssen had thought that the purpose of the event was to reminisce the events of the past year. Once she arrived at the event, however, she realized that the purpose of the event was to raise money to pay for the dues to join the Junior Surfrider Foundation, which are $20 per person. All of the money made at the event is going towards paying for their dues.
“I had no idea that this was centered around us,” Franssen said. “I thought we were going to go there, sell some food, and watch a slide show, but really, all of the money made that night was donated to the Surf Club to help pay for our Surfrider dues.”
The West Broward Surf Club operated a table to the side of the monitor, where the pictures were displayed. They sold various items, including soda, water, chips, cookies, candy, and even raffle tickets. The raffle tickets were sold for the purpose of raffling off different items donated by several ocean themed stores, including Island Water Sports.
After the conclusion of the slideshow, Hicks explained the purpose of the night and the following auction. Items from the auction included skateboards, surfing accessories, and sunglasses. Most of the items auctioned were sold in store for over $100; however, they were auctioned off for nearly half the price.
“The auction was one of my favorite parts of the night,” beach goer Michael Curran said. “It was so much fun to try to get what you want and beat out other people. The auction was such a great deal too, it was such a big discount compared to actual price.”
After the auction, the raffle was performed, and to Franssen’s surprise, she had been chosen to read off the raffle tickets.
“This was a night full of surprises,” Franssen said. “First I arrive and see that the purpose of the event is for us, then they call me up to the front to call out raffle tickets. I an so thankful for these surprises though, because we are one step closer to being a part of the Junior Surfrider Foundation.”
-Cole Williams, Sophomore newspaper editor at WBHS