A couple of local paddlers and all around good guys, Andy Maser & Daniel Fox, are hitting the water this morning to paddle 130 miles from Willamette Falls in Portland, Or to the confluence of the Columbia river and the Pacific Ocean. While it sounds like it's going to be a great adventure, these guys aren't just doing it for fun, they're doing it to benefit these very worthy organizations:
* Disabled American Veterans
* Team River Runner
* WeLoveCleanRivers.org
Not only great paddlers and philanthropists, Andy and Daniel are all over the communication stream, so you can follow their adventures this week via Twitter (@amaser & @kitsunekeimou), SPOT Adventures and their Facebook group, Century Paddle.
Andy & Daniel haven't been the only ones busy raising money for great organizations by paddling. We ran across a couple of recent articles that should be inspiring for anyone.
Forest Rose did the first half of an 1800 mile voyage, from Newark to New Orleans, on the Ohio River to raise $8000 for research for children's cancer. He'll complete the 2nd half next summer.
http://www.newarkadvocate.com/article/20090829/NEWS01/908290318
Eric Innes completed an 85 day, 1700 mile trip around the British Isles to raise money for Help for Heroes, a British organization dedicated to helping injured soldiers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/lancashire/8228622.stm
Kudos to all of the paddlers out there that are using their skills and talents to further causes that affect so many of us!