Cleveland County Social Worker for the Blind, Lucy Plyler, took seven Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) to the Outer Banks for the 28th Annual VIP Fishing Tournament. The group of seven anglers brought home the 1st Place Trophy for Group Winner for the Kitty Hawk Pier, netting an average of 4 lbs. 4 oz. per member. Only fish caught on the participant’s line and hauled in by the participant during the established time limit could be counted toward participant’s total weight in the fishing contest. Volunteers are only permitted to bait hooks and cast the line into the ocean.
The event is sponsored by the First Flight, Nags Head, Manteo, Wanchese, Columbia, Currituck, Lower Currituck and Plymouth Lions clubs. The North Carolina Lions VIP Fishing Tournament attracts over 500 blind and visually impaired people to the Outer Banks each October.
The North Carolina Lions VIP Fishing Tournament is a non-profit organization and is celebrating their 28th anniversary in 2010. The project brought in 525 participants from across North Carolina for three days of recreation, fellowship, and independent living workshops designed to help impaired persons (VIPs). It is the largest gathering of visually impaired in North Carolina and is believed to be the largest event of its kind in North America. Services to the VIPs include education and an extension of the rehabilitation programs provided by the North Carolina Services for the Blind. Through educational and recreational activities, the VIPs are provided opportunities to eliminate negative attitudes often associated with blindness and to accommodate their need to enter mainstream America. Research and development may eventually find a cure for blindness, but there are currently more than 20,000 visually impaired people in the Tar Heel state. The VIP program touches the lives of a small percentage of those persons who are attempting to conform to a world of the sighted. Tournament officials recognize the need to build support and a financial base for the project. In-kind services secured locally and statewide help offset the annual costs. The North Carolina Lions Foundation annually supports the project, last year providing $15,000. The Foundation has agreed to match this grant with 25 percent of the participant’s cost share.
Fund-raisers, such as the adopt-a-fisherman program, contributions and smaller projects cover expenses of the annual event that can exceed $150,000. Participants arrive on the Outer Banks on a Monday, are housed in local hotels, have six meals, go fishing on two head boats and four ocean fishing piers for a day of recreation. They also participate in seminars and independent living training, and visit with vendors. The closing awards banquet on Wednesday offers motivation and awards. More than 150 volunteers follow the same schedule as they assist the VIPs throughout the annual event. The project has grown from a local tournament serving 12 blind children to the 550 participants of today.
Thanks to the Lions Clubs of Cleveland County: Boiling Springs Lions Club, Kings Mountain Lions Club, Lawndale Lions Club, Shelby Community Lions Club, and the Shelby Lions Club made it possible for the group from Cleveland County to go on this trip. Many thanks go to the family members of the VIPs and to Dr. Carroll Page and his son, Aaron for volunteering to assist the VIPs in this trip.
Contact Lucy Plyler, Social Worker for the Blind for more information at: 704-487-0661 ext. 317. |
