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A letter from the Founder Frank Bauer
A few years ago, I purchased a piece of property in Costa Rica with my business partner Chris and we were contemplating what to do with it. One night while channel surfing TV programming, I saw a short documentary about a non-profit organization named Life Rolls On. In the documentary, LRO was having a one day event where disabled children
& adults showed up at a specific beach and were treated to a day of surfing. I specifically remember the faces of those who participated. Some were fearful, some were overwhelmed with excitement. But as each of them came out of the water, I noticed a look of pure joy and gratitude, as if walls of fear and indifference had come crashing down. Being a lifelong surfer, I was amazed by the level of emotional recovery the ocean seemed to give to these children & adults.
The very next day I was getting my tires swapped at a local tire store and while in the waiting room, another documentary came on TV. This time it was highlighting another non-profit organization called Surfers Healing Group. This organization has the same basic concept but works with children and adults with Autism. Again I was completely moved by what I saw and suddenly had an epiphany. Could I provide the same idea for a week instead of a day? Could I build a place that could be a hybrid between for-profit & non-profit and could the for-profit side of the camp raise enough capital to be able to provide the camp to non-profits at no cost? The answer is yes.
Since that day, my entire focus has been to build Shaka with that idea. And also since that day, the right people have seemed to come into my life and help make the dream a reality. I would like to thank my family for their continued support of this dream, my co-owner Chris for allowing me to build the camp on our land, Christiaan Bailey for his ADA accessible building design and knowledge of non-profit organizations, and all of my friends, who have both financially and emotionally supported me in the creation of our camps.
It is my belief that many people with disabilities let fear of the unknown drive them away from pursuing what it is they would like to do, causing them to doubt their capabilities and in many cases crippling their confidence as well. I believe that through the act of surfing, they can conquer those fears and force those personal barriers to crumble and fall, instilling in it’s place not only a profound sense of achievement, but also a renewed spirit of adventure and willingness to try anything!
With that in mind, thank you for visiting our site and for supporting our dream of bridging the gap between our guests and the healing energy of the ocean.
