We caught up with Ross Garrett, President of the SIMA Humanitarian fund, to get an update on this year’s Stokes Me campaign.
1. The Rip Curl Team Signing and Benefit Raffle on Sept. 21st sounds great – can you give us a few details about the event?
The event goes from 1-3 on Saturday at the Rip Curl surf center in South San Clemente. It’s going to be a great event. All the top athletes are in town for the contest, and Rip Curl has been gracious enough to host their team and raffle off some really cool product.
2. Stokes Me is trying a new format this year – how is it going?
It’s going pretty well. Right now 19 of the top retailers in the country are raising money in their stores and 12 of the best brands in the industry are helping to match what these retailers raise with $37,000 pledged. There’s a handful of other events that will help raise additional funds. I think we have the right format and we hope to get more brands involved in the coming years, but we also understand it’s been a tough time for some of the brands in the industry, and we appreciate everyone who was able to support the campaign in whatever way they were able. It’s a great testament to the industry that we can all come together even in times of difficulty to collectively improve the lives of people who are often less fortunate than us.
3. This week is also the benefit auction hosted by Noll Surfboards. Can you tell us about some of the items that will be available there?
Yep. Thursday night from 6:30-9:30. It’s the grand opening of the Noll store in San Clemente, and Jed Noll shaped a beautiful board that the artist Trevor Mezak collaborated on and it will be up for auction. Trevor is actually finishing the painting during the vent. There will be live music and it should be a really special night.
4. Please tell us about the Stokes Me fund beneficiaries.
There are 11 beneficiaries. They’re all doing fantastic work that help people in all sorts of situations better enjoy life, the ocean, and the lifestyle we’ve all come to enjoy and make our business out of.
Waves For Water and Jon Rose provide filters and thereby clean drinking water for people around the world
- Life Rolls On and Jesse Billauer improve the lives of people with spinal cord injuries
- Surf Aid and Dr. Dave and Kirk Wilcox are improving the health and welfare of the Mentawai Villagers
- Izzy at Surfer’s Healing are improving the lives of children and the families of children with autism through surfing programs
- Cystic Fibrosis foundation takes kids with cystic fibrosis surfing and the salt air enables them to clear their lungs and breath easier
- AccessSurf empowers people with all sorts of disabilities through surfing programs and by working with municipalities to enable access to the beach for people with disabilities
- Best Day Foundation puts kids with disabilities like blindness, down syndrome, CP, and autism in the water
- The Jimmy Miller Foundation gets Marines with physical and mental injuries in the water.
- Stoked Mentoring and Outdoor Outreach take kids in at-risk or impoverished situations and exposes them to the wonders of the ocean and surfing
- Keep-A-Breast educates young women in the action sports community about breast cancer and the importance of early detection
