The 25th installment of the Merwin Day of Fishing for Kids with Disabilities hosted by Pacific Power and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) drew a record turnout of over 300 participants.
Children spent the day fishing in a supportive and inclusive environment in ponds stocked with thousands of fish, specially raised for this event. Volunteer coaches helped them catch up to five fish, which were cleaned and put on ice while families enjoyed a barbecue. At the end of the day, kids took home the brand-new fishing rods and tackle that they used to catch their fish, as well.
Claire Olsen and her dad, Lonnie Olsen, of Longview, enjoyed the opportunity and brought home five great fish for a meal later on.
“She’s able to get an equal opportunity,” Lonnie Olsen said of watching his daughter fish at the event.
Kelli Gundersen, of Vancouver, brought her son, Briagenn, to the event and greatly enjoyed the opportunity for kids of all abilities to have the equal chance to land a big trout.
Gundersen added often a lot of other events just shuffle in kids with disabilities, but during the Merwin fishing event, “Our kids are celebrated,” she said.
For 25 years, Pacific Power has sponsored the event with WDFW by providing volunteers and support held at the hatchery near Merwin Dam, a vital source of hydroelectric power for customers in the region, managed by Pacific Power. Pacific Power employees, WDFW and several recreational outdoors organizations generously contributed their time and expertise to ensure each child had a memorable experience.
”This is my seventh or eighth year doing this. As a 30-year resident of the Woodland area here, it’s great to see the company that I’ve worked for 30-plus years give back to the community in which I live,” said Todd Dinehart, vice president of business optimization for Pacific Power. “Seeing kids with disabilities being able to be themselves, they can go fish, they can win prizes, they can have a barbecue and just a place to be themselves with their family, it’s wonderful.”
The event unites young patients from Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospital, Kaiser Kids and other facilities, including those managing conditions such as spina bifida, cerebral palsy and cancer, a press release by Pacific Power stated.
The anglers caught Goldendale rainbow trout specially raised for the event.
“It’s great joy to everybody to be able to come here, get a free rod, a tackle box, boxed up with some nice tackle, and provide an opportunity for some people that might not be able to go fishing on their own,” Jesse Cody, WDFW fish hatchery specialist at the Merwin Hatchery, said.
Dian Knous, principal accounts manager for Pacific Power, said the event reaching its 25-year anniversary just means it's a tremendous success and legacy to continue.
“You see community and volunteers and you see so many different organizations help out to put this on,” Knous said. “And you see the biggest smiles ever on these kids’ faces as they catch their first fish.”
The event brings in many volunteers of all ages. Jovie Kirkendall, 11, of Roseburg, Oregon, has found her time volunteering to be incredibly rewarding.
“It gives you a good feeling,” she said. “Like, it’s fun to make other people happy and see other people smile, and even if it’s hard work for you, it just brings me so much joy to see everybody happy, and these kids don’t normally get to do this, and so it just makes me really happy to see them. So, it’s my reward to see them happy.”
