Charity combines fishing with helping kids in need

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George Bowers started a charity that uses fishing to help children facing serious medical issues. Fishing for a Cause is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, and Bowers hopes to continue to help more kids. (Tom Venesky / Contributing Photographer)HANOVER TWP. — When George Bowers started Fishing for a Cause in 2000, the purpose was simple.

An avid angler, Bowers wanted to use his love of fishing to brighten the day for children battling serious illnesses. He did so by making annual trips to the Janet Weis Children’s Hospital in Danville and the Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Wilkes-Barre, delivering gifts of fishing rods and reels to children who had to spend Christmas in the hospital.

Twenty-five years later, Bowers still helps kids and Fishing for a Cause has grown into a non-profit with a team of 13 volunteers.

“I never thought it would get this big and hit the 25-year mark,” said Bowers, who resides in Hanover Twp. “But I hope it gets bigger because the more this grows, the number of kids we can help also grows.”

Over the years, Bowers expanded his charitable work in creative ways to combine fishing with helping kids.

He visits special needs children in schools to give presentations about fishing — even taking his bass boat for the kids to climb into — and hosts a fishing derby every year on a private pond he stocks with bluegills and bass. Every October, the Wayne County Bassmasters hosts a charity bass tournament on Lake Wallenpaupack to raise money for Bowers’ work (this year’s tournament is Oct. 26).

The kids and their families who Fishing for a Cause helps are going through difficult times on the physical and financial fronts, Bowers said, and oftentimes fishing is a temporary, yet effective, remedy.

“I see the kids smile when we give them a fishing pole, and when I see a kid catch a fish with the equipment we gave them, it means a lot,” he said. “For some of these kids, fishing makes them smile for the first time in months. It takes their minds off the illness and challenges, and that’s why we promote fishing as a part of this.”
Bowers estimates the organization has helped hundreds of kids and families in the Wyoming Valley area and beyond. Each one faces a challenge that for many is unfathomable, and Bowers is touched every time he visits someone at their home or in the hospital.

George Bowers with his daughter, Riley, left, and Luke, a child who was helped by Fishing for a Cause. Luke was undergoing treatment for liver cancer at the time of the photo, and he was later named an honorary member of Wayne County Bassmasters. (Courtesy of George Bowers)In fact, Bowers has experience of what it’s like having a child dealing with a serious health issue. In 1999, his newborn daughter, Riley, spent several weeks in the (neonatal intensive care) NIC Unit at Geisinger in Danville. That experience is what contributed to Bowers creating Fishing for a Cause 25 years ago.

“When you visit these kids, it really affects you and I’ll walk out of a house and my eyes are just tearing up,” he said. “We had one girl who had a tumor on her kidney, the kidney failed and the tumor turned out to be cancerous. She just started treatment and then her family’s house burned.

“Just thinking about what some of these kids and families go through really motivates me to do more.”

And it prompts others to help.

In addition to the efforts of 13 volunteers, donations and fundraisers are what drive Fishing for a Cause. Bowers said the support from local businesses and residents is enormous and the money does much more than cover the purchase of fishing rods and reels. Fishing for a Cause helps families cover medical expenses and medications, physical therapy and install wheelchair ramps and stair lift systems inside the homes of children.

Even a Hanover Twp. church — The Exultation of the Holy Cross — makes crochet blankets that Bowers gives to each child.

Over the years, Bowers said the number of kids needing help has grown. Often it’s word of mouth that connects a child with Fishing for a Cause, but the charity also has a website (fishing4acause.org) that serves as a referral outlet for those who know someone who can use some help.

Bowers, who recently retired from his job, intends to commit more time to the charity with the help of his volunteers and sponsors. There will always be kids to help, he said, and sometimes all it takes is simply placing a fishing rod in their hands and getting their mind off of the challenge they’re facing.

“We can’t fix anything medically and we’re not doctors, but we can help whether it’s financially or just giving a child some inspiration by putting a smile on their face,” Bowers said.

Fishing for a Cause Cornhole Tournament
One of the major fundraisers Bowers holds each year is the Fishing for a Cause Cornhole Tournament, which will take place May 17 at the Breslau Fire Hall in Hanover Twp. The event is limited to 50 teams with registration beginning at noon, followed by the tournament at 1 p.m. There will also be raffles, food trucks, music and other activities. Sponsors are needed for the event, and proceeds benefit Fishing for a Cause. For more information, visit fishing4acause.org.

TOM VENESKY is a freelance outdoors writer. Contact him at veneskyoutdoors.com.