Project Make [it] count: Florida

Teaching self-confidence with a surfboard

My name is Avril Garcia, and I'm Filipino with a French first name, Chinese middle name, and Spanish last name. I was raised in Louisiana, and now I live in South Beach, Florida, living the good life. I have been with PwC as an associate for two years in the Advisory Internal Audit practice. I was born in Cebu, Philippines, and moved to Baton Rouge at age 6. I lived in Baton Rouge for 16 years and attended Louisiana State University. After graduating, I moved to Miami to start my career with PwC.

Growing up as an underprivileged child, I know what it's like not to have luxuries. Now I feel very blessed to be where I am today, with a stable job, time to travel, close to the beach, etc. Recently, I took up stand-up paddle surfing and eventually learned surfing, too. My first paddle surf was in September 2008. I still remember how scared I was to try it! Gradually I began to gain self-confidence and started to focus more. Once I learned to stand-up paddle surf, I gradually learned to do normal surfing. I got over my fear of the water and began to surf better and better.

I started to volunteer my time on the weekends to teach kids how to surf. I also taught them safety, team-building, and building self-confidence. And I loved seeing those smiles. It let me know that I was making a difference in their lives.

What if I could volunteer my time on the weekends to teach the less fortunate kids how to surf and have the opportunity to instill that self-confidence in them? What if underprivileged kids could have the same experience? That's when I knew this was the project I wanted to do. There is nothing like the feeling of accomplishment!

It takes one step...

I started my project by speaking to Girard Middleton, owner of Sobe Surf, a company in South Beach. Girard has been a trusted part of the South Beach community and Florida surfing family for many years. Gerard commented, "I remember how frustrating it was for me to learn surfing without any help when I began 28 years ago. All the unnecessary fears you build up just from not having any coaching, not knowing how to manage yourself in the ocean or having proper surfing techniques and mind set."

Girard and I partnered with Erica French, one of Girard's best friends and the program developer for Educate Tomorrow. The nonprofit organization was founded through the efforts of five sisters who understood firsthand the struggles of poverty and abuse. Its primary mission is to provide one-on-one educational mentors to foster care children who are turning 18 and "aging out" of the system. Educate Tomorrow is comprised of volunteers in the community who are willing to mentor and guide these young adults and assist them in completing high school and applying for college or technical school.

I called Erica to discuss my project and to learn more about her organization. I spoke to Harry Duval and Anderson Haywood, two of the kids from the Educate Tomorrow program, and found that their personalities were very warm and inviting despite that they grew up as foster children and lived through rough times.

Anderson is a foster child who is finishing high school and hoping to apply to college. When he was a child, he didn't have the necessities in life that would prepare him for college. Growing up, he was not encouraged to go to college. But Educate Tomorrow sponsored a trip to visit colleges in North Carolina, and Anderson was fortunate enough to attend. Anderson said, "Being at the college was the next step to becoming self-motivated to go."

Harry is working a part-time job and attending school. While in foster care, he and his father maintained contact until one day when he was no longer allowed to communicate with his dad. He missed his father so much he decided to move closer to him in a bad neighborhood. "When I was growing up my dad told me that school wasn't important," Harry said."I realized later that I wanted to finish college so I could be a medical assistant."

When asked their opinion about being chosen as two of the participants in my project, both boys displayed great enthusiasm. Being part of the surfing project is a great opportunity for kids to go outside the box, be creative, overcome fear, and learn to trust.

What if I fail?

December 7, 2008, rolled around quite fast. The day started at 7 a.m., when I began piling supplies into my car. I promised Erica French, project coordinator for Educate Tomorrow, I would pick up some kids. As I began to make my way to the kids' houses, I realized these kids were not living in the safest neighborhoods. We made our way to the beach only to find that it was cold, windy, cloudy, and, at times, a bit drizzly. The kids appeared unenthused, and some felt more scared than anything else. Eventually, more kids showed up and the stand-up paddle surfing lessons commenced—first on land and then in the sea. One by one, each kid grabbed a surfboard and made his way to the water. There were seven kids that day.

Initially the kids were falling off the boards and into the water every few seconds. They eventually learned to balance and paddle. Some caught on faster than others, and those who did helped out others who were having a difficult time. It was a beautiful sight, seeing these kids smile.

One kid in particular, Anderson, was determined to stay on the board. He had fallen in the water again and again and again. Yet he managed to get up and do it all over. He told me, "The best part about this is falling because it's so much fun." Some of the kids would make comments like "I don't want to fall" or "What if I fall?" Anderson would come around and tell them, "No, you should fall! It's the best part!" Then the kids would just laugh and go with the flow. I thought, "Wow, this kid has some influence, and he barely had to twist their arms! Imagine if he put that influence to good use!"

Not only did I make it count for the kids, I made it count for myself, for Girard Middleton, for Erica, and for all those who volunteered their time to assist me (my friends and my colleagues). I felt so happy and fortunate, knowing that I just shared one of my favorite water activities with these kids and with my friends. "It takes one step to take a second one." - Anderson.