SoDel Cares, the philanthropic arm of SoDel Concepts, Rehoboth Beach, recently donated $4,000 to Surfers Healing, which holds volunteer-staffed surf camps that offer more than 4,500 children with autism and their families a day at the beach.
Founded in 1996 and based in Southern California, the organization holds camps on both coasts. A camp in Ocean City, MD is scheduled for Aug. 17.
“Kris Medford, the general manager at NorthEast Seafood Kitchen, is an avid surfer, and he brought Surfers Healing to our attention,” said Scott Kammerer, CEO of Rehoboth Beach-based SoDel Concepts, which owns eight coastal-area restaurants, Plate Catering, the food truck Big Thunder Roadside Kitchen and hospitality consulting and management divisions. “Kris wants to introduce kids with autism to the joy of surfing, and we’re happy to help children benefit from being in the water and the waves.”
Surfers Healing was founded by Israel Paskowitz, a championship surfer, and his wife, Danielle, who had a son with autism. Many children with autism struggle with sensory overload, but they noticed that he grew calm when on the water. The ocean’s sense of weightlessness and the waves’ rhythms act as a therapeutic experience, a respite from the constant assault on their senses.
