Press release:
Tom Brown, founder of the Surfing for Life Foundation, is pleased to announce the non-profit foundation once again exceeded their goal thanks to the support from the global surfing community.
The Santa Barbara based nonprofit continues its efforts in spreading cancer awareness to the surfing community by naming the charity recipients for the 2nd quarter 2014. Four times a year the Surfing for Life Foundation donates money to various cancer organizations around the country through proceeds earned from their wristband sales in surf shops in both Europe and the United States. All charities receiving funds share a similar philosophy-awareness and being pro-active in the fight against cancer. The following distributions were made for the period ending June 30 2014. All donations were made possible through the generous contributions from surfers, surf shops, and individuals:
American Cancer Society/Relay for Life
Boarding for Breast Cancer
Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation
Cancer Center of Santa Barbara
First Descents
“My circumstances this quarter made it difficult for me to visit shops and personally chat with owners and managers,” states Brown. “Despite this temporary setback, I’m thrilled to announce several shops and online donors made an extra effort and stepped up to lend their support, all in the name of helping to spread cancer awareness throughout the surfing community.” Salt Water Divas of Santa Barbara chipped in by donating a portion of every sale from their new Organic Sunblock, Live Free by Spirit Earth. The crew at Rincon Designs Surf Shop held a raffle with all proceeds being donated to the Surfing for Life Foundation. And finally, O’Neill Surf Shops continue to blow through their wristbands with a vengeance.
“We’re super stoked to add several new surf shops to our distribution chain,” enthused Brown. Goofy Foot Surf School (Lahaina, Maui), Kennedy Surf Shop (Woodland Hills, Ca.), The Country Deli (Outer Banks, N.C.) and Patagonia-Bordeaux (Bordeaux, France).
A special note of gratitude to legendary surfer Mike Tabeling for joining the SFL Legends Team and sporting his Surfing for Life wristband.
Involvement with both the surfing community and cancer community continues to be a driving force for the organization. The Surfing for Life Foundation recently collaborated with The ? Why Foundation (W?F) by participating in the Q & A discussion group following the screening of Allison Gryphon’s new documentary, What The F@#- Is Cancer And Why Does Everybody Have It at the Plaza Playhouse Theater. “I was honored to be a part of this special event fighting cancer with the arts.” “If we can bring attention about ways of being pro-active against the disease to just one person, we’ve succeeded in our goal,” states Brown
The Surfing for Life Foundation was started in 2008 following Tom Brown’s diagnosis of stage IV colon cancer. He is a firm believer in awareness and being pro-active. Through their wristband program, the Surfing for Life Foundation has raised more than $20,000.00 to help in the fight against cancer. There are currently 22,000 surfers from around the world wearing blue Surfing for Life wristbands in support.
For more information regarding the Surfing for Life Foundation and how you can help, contact Tom: surfingforlifefoundation@gmail.com or visit their website at https://www.surfingforlife.org/
