From Casting for Recovery:
Casting for Recovery, a non-profit organization offering support and educational retreats for women with breast cancer is announcing its expansion to southern California. On June 6-8th on Lake Arrowhead at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Conference Center volunteers, staff and participants will gather to commence the first Casting for Recovery retreat in the greater Los Angeles area. These retreats are not only to teach women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer to fly fish, it is an entire quality of life program that teaches tools on how to cope with a diagnosis and subsequently deal with the physical and mental hurdles they have and will encounter. On this weekend in June, 14 women will be attending the retreat as participants where they will learn to fly fish from local fly fishers including members from Kern River Fly Fishers, Sierra Pacific Fly Fishers, Long Beach Casting Club and Southwest Council Fly Fishing Federation among others. Also on staff is a psychosocial therapist and a medical professional to attend to the needs of each participant.
“We are very excited to announce the expansion to southern California this year,” says Casting for Recovery executive director Whitney Milhoan. “The programs are the heart of our organization and it’s always exciting to expand into a new territory, serve the women there and welcome them into our family. CfR retreats allow participants to be a part of a larger community across the United States and connect with others who are going through some of the same struggles as they are.”
Volunteer program coordinator, Bonnie Anderson, has worked for more than a year conducting outreach and public awareness throughout southern California not only through volunteer connections but gaining financial support as well to be able to host this program for the women of this area. She says, “I am thrilled to be able to begin this program in June. As a spouse of a two time breast cancer survivor, I know the importance of this type of a program. It helps breast cancer survivors deal with their diagnosis and bond with other survivors and have a little bit of fun. These programs connect them in ways only they could describe but it’s wonderful to see the smiles on their faces after these retreats.”
CfR retreats are open to women at any age or stage of treatment and are committed to serving women with breast cancer at no cost, as it has been for the past 18 years. In 2013, CfR held retreats across the United States serving nearly 600 breast cancer survivors. In 2014, CfR plans on hosting 42 retreats in 34 states with the exciting addition of the southern California program. Casting for Recovery has served more than 6,000 women to date. To apply to attend the retreat, volunteer or lend financial support visit http://castingforrecovery.org. The deadline for participant application is March 28, 2014 for the southern California retreat.
For more information on the 2014 retreat schedule please visit: http://castingforrecovery.org./retreat-schedule or contact Holly Calloway at [email protected].
Casting for Recovery® (CfR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit created to enhance the quality of life of women with breast cancer by providing free retreats to promote and support mental and physical healing. Casting for Recovery’s program combines counseling, medical information, and the therapeutic sport of fly-fishing. Retreats are offered at no cost to women at any age and any stage of breast cancer treatment and recovery.
