Across the country, there are dozens of programs that cater to exposing kids to the outdoors. All of them want kids to have a good time fishing, paddling, or camping. Those programs that want to add a little bit more desire to pass on an  ethos along with an activity. There are a select few that not only present what the woods and water have to offer and explain why it is special, but also commit to the kids in a long-term manner.

Cast Hope is  committed to  the kids in their program, and Directing of Marketing and co-founder Hogan Brown was excited to share why: “It is pretty clear that people protect what they derive pleasure from, And if the next generation doesn’t appreciate those places, we’re not going to  have places to fish. Basically, conservation is only as good as the generation that picks it up and cares. So we’re really focused on attaching kids to the places and things that are in the outdoors.”

Just over a decade ago, Cast Hope had its genesis in the kind of place and at the time of day that isn’t usually associated with great ideas. “(Co-founder) Ryan Johnston and I were sitting in a taco bar after the day out guiding for steelhead,” Brown says. “Ryan brought up the idea as something that was going to be a project for his MBA. A lot more work and time was put into it, and then it became reality.”

Today, kids in California and Nevada are on the river and catching fish with Cast Hope. But with this program, there’s so much more than just catching fish.

In a day and age when there are so many other things vying for kids’ time and energy, Brown and Johnston wanted to offer something that wasn’t going to be a passing trend or unproductive fad. The joy of hooking into a fish – any fish – was an experience that they desired kids to have. “Being in the front of a drift boat is timeless fun,”  Brown says. “If he’s never been in a boat or on a river or caught a fish on a fly rod he’s going to be hooked. Once that happens, they’ll be willing to put the time in and get good at it. That is part of it: It isn’t so much that kids have  short attention spans, it is selective attention because of all the other options out there.”

There is actually value in leveraging a newfound interest in the outdoors when that child does get back in front of their screens. “In a lot of ways they have the potential to get really good because of the digital resources at their fingertips,” Brown says.  “Ryan and I were both fishing guides. We saw how quickly people got good at fishing over only a few trips. We didn’t want to just be in the business of creating fly fisherman, but creating people who love the outdoors. You have to commit to people for both; it isn’t a one time experience.”

This commitment is, again, something that sets Cast Hope apart. Kids don’t just have a day or week where they get to fish or learn about fishing. They get to enter into a relationship and a world that will run adjacent to everything else they have going on in life. Fishing gets to be a part of who they are and what they do. Cast Hope’s guides and volunteers meet with kids multiple times to help them learn how to fish, learn how to think about the resources, and learn how to think about themselves.

Something else distinctive about Cast Hope is how it also trains up adults in the participants’ lives. “That was a very practical thing to address the fact that access is for most kids a huge hurdle,” Brown says. “One trip a month isn’t going to get it done. Most kids have a parent, grandparent, or mentor who can help. If we teach both of them, the adult can help them get out more than we can on our own. Taking out a kid  and his grandpa, or a kid and her Big Sister, then were taking down barriers for both of them. There’s a whole lot more too it, too. It also helps the kid and that adult build a bond, whether it is his stepdad or his parole officer.”

This holistic approach is unique, but it reflects the reality that an encouraging relationship can be a catalyst and a lasting influence for real change. By training up mentors that are already in children’s lives and committed to their success, Cast Hope effectively increases their volunteer base with every applicable kid. The kids they reach and the adults in their lives often need that helping hand that Cast Hope provides.

“We serve underserved kids,” Brown says. “For us, that means everything from kids that are in juvenile hall to kids whose parents make millions of dollars but only have one day off a month. And likewise, our mentors come in all shapes and sizes. We’ve got parents, guides, neighbors, group home administrators, Boys and Girls Clubs volunteers; you name it.”

This broad net, and the faithful dedication to provide gear, guides, and any other resources to kids in the program means that Cast Hope is doing a great job managing resources and volunteer time. They want to serve as many kids as they can, but not at the cost of limiting what any child in the program has access to. That is limiting in some sense, but at the same time it ensures they can stick to their mission.

That doesn’t mean they aren’t growing, however. “We’re excited to be opening up programs in North Carolina and West Virginia in 2022,” Brown says. “We’re growing slowly not because there aren’t opportunities for expansion, but because we’ve never said no to a kid. We always want to be able to do that, which means making sure we’ve got that financial stability. I’m sure we’ll grow. But slow and steady wins the race.”

By instilling a holistic ethos, involving environmental stewardship and intergenerational relationships, Cast Hope is equipping young men and women to be conscientious anglers and people. This is the kind of initiative that takes a lot of work, but eventually replicates and sustains itself when successful. In Cast Hope, kids will catch fish. But more importantly, they will develop the confidence and commitment to protect the resource and pass it on to those who come after them.

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Learn more about Cast Hope, including how you can get involved, here.