A mother made that simple statement to me after our first Wish-A-Fish Event in 2000 and to this day it continues to inspire me. I originally started, what has now become Wish-A-Fish, hoping I could get 10 boats together and provide a few families a little relief from the daily stress of having a child with “special needs”, by taking the entire family out for a day of fun and fishing on the water.

It quickly grew and we ended up helping 23 families, with a total of 38 children (including brothers and sisters) and 34 boats that year.  In subsequent years,  we added new events in both Maryland and Virginia and, since 2000, have hosted more than 275 families and 600 children.

First, let me say that Wish-A-Fish could not have accomplished any of this without the many captains, boat owners, local tackle shops, corporate sponsors, individual donors, children’s organizations, and all the volunteers who have helped with the events.

A typical Wish-A-Fish Individual Boater event consists of 25-35 families joining us at a local boat ramp or state park. We then sign-up up the families assign them a captain, and give each “special child” (including brothers and sisters) a free t-shirt and hat. They are then fitted with a life jacket, given bait and tackle and finally loaded on the captain’s boat. The entire family then goes out for a day of fun and fishing on the water. After the fishing activities we have a picnic for everyone to share the day’s events with each other. Any extra prizes or gifts are then raffled off to the children to really make the day special for everyone.

100% of the funds raised by The Wish-A-Fish Foundation go directly toward the children to provide them with hats, T-shirts, tackle and food for the picnic.

Al Bunnell
President
Wish-A-Fish Foundation, Inc.