Fishing with Legends
One of my favorite things to do as the Constituent Services & Support Coordinator is cultivating and engaging in meaningful interactions with organizations across Mississippi. The last 3-months at The Alliance have been incredibly insightful and genuinely humbling. When traveling through the hot Mississippi-summer months of July and August, I met many inspiring organizations. By doing a lot more listening than speaking, my experiences have conveyed the tightly woven, interconnected network of dedicated (and might I say, incredibly inspiring) people who are working their hardest to do the right thing for their communities.
As summer transitions to fall and nights become cooler, we remember the tragedy of 9/11 and the American heroes that responded. At this moment, it seems a good time to highlight a faith-based organization that is dedicated to giving back to our heroes. This month, I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Adam Brewer, founder of Fishing with Legends.
Fishing with Legends connects American combat veterans to the outdoors in many ways, but fishing is the main outlet. The mission at Fishing with Legends is to create relationships with each Veteran they encounter. So, what does connecting to the great outdoors and fishing do for veterans? For veterans suffering from mental health issues such as PTSD, Fishing with Legends provides a healthy outlet to help manage their stress. Our veterans will then have the tools to live better and more productive lives.
Adam is passionate about sharing his faith with veterans. He believes that God speaks to all people through nature. His passion developed through his personal struggles. Fishing with his father allowed Adam and his father to form a deeper bond – an experience Adam seeks to recreate and share with others. Adam shared a touching statement with me, “to see the sun come up with a bunch of people in nature and sharing that with another person, and to see it have an effect is what fuels me to do this …to keep going and do more.” I could tell just how much Adam loves people, interacting with them, and veterans are a unique group of people he really loves. When veterans seek out Fishing with Legends, they will find three things: faith, fishing, and fellowship.
Thank you to all of our service members.
Julia Kunis
Constituent Support Coordinator
If you would like more information on Fishing with Legends, please visit their website here.
Related Articles
Equity in Response, Recovery and Resilence: An Action Report in Five Parts
The Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy (the Alliance) was created to enhance coordination, collaboration, and communication among nonprofits, maximizing existing funding and expanding resources. The Alliance also focuses on embedding equity into nonprofit work, aiming to ensure equitable outcomes. During the 2022 Jackson water crisis, nonprofits worked to meet urgent needs. Recently, with funding from the US Water Alliance, the Alliance and its partners have been studying equity in disaster response, recovery, and resilience efforts.
Revisiting Big Questions for Philanthropy: When to Bridge and When to Fight
Two big, related questions have hung over many in philanthropy these past several years: first, how best to protect democracy, and second, how to work to bridge differences in a polarized time.
Sabbaticals and the Case for More Rest for Leaders of Color
Social change isn’t possible when nonprofit leaders are exhausted. Extended paid leave helped me — and can help others.