Cooperative Living August 2016 - 18

2015 RAHF Tournament at Hope Springs Marina
two dozen combat veterans, with
volunteer boaters from across Northern
Virginia pitching in to help and take the
vets out onto the water.
" We realized that dedicated sponsors
would be needed to support all the
activities we had in mind for RAHF, "
DeFreitas says.
After the initial event, RAHF
tournaments received a big boost from
Jimmy Franklin, owner of Hope Springs
Marina in Stafford, who provided use of
his marina on a Saturday in July at no
charge, while Stafford County's Tourism
Department helped cover lodging for outof-state
tournament participants.
" Every participant receives free
gear they can take home and use to
continue pursuing this sport, including
tournament-quality rods, reels, tackle
and fishing bait, a tackle box and even
sunglasses, " explains Nelson Zapata, a
disabled veteran who learned about
RAHF in 2014.
In addition to its annual tournament
each summer, " Team RAHF " offers
fishing day trips to veterans in need all
year long. Each vet is paired up with an
experienced angler who can help teach
the skills needed to fish for fun or even
competitively.
DeFreitas is especially proud that
RAHF has earned a " Top Rated
Nonprofit " rating from Great
Nonprofits.org for the past two years.
" We're a completely volunteer-run
organization, " he explains. " A look at
16 | Cooperative Living | August 2016
'I've always enjoyed
fishing. But never did I
realize how much, until
after my injuries.
When I'm on the
water, I don't think
about anything but the
fish. How will I get
them to bite? What
bait should I use?
Other times, I don't
think about anything
more than the beauty
of nature and peaceful
silence of it all.'
- Joshua, Army veteran and
Team RAHF participant
our most recent Form 990 will show that
93.5 cents out of every dollar we receive
goes directly to serve our veterans. "
This statistic reflects DeFreitas' success
at soliciting donated awards
and other resources, so that printing,
postage, website hosting and rental
of a storage facility are among the
only expenses.
PERSONAL HEALTH CHALLENGES
BRING FAMILY INTO EFFORT
In April 2015, DeFreitas was
diagnosed with stage IV metastatic
prostate cancer. Following surgery, he
learned he also had Type II diabetes.
These health concerns led him to
consider cancelling RAHF's upcoming
tournament, when daughter Ashley
stepped in to help.
Like her father, Ashley works for the
Prince William County school system
(DeFreitas is a network engineer and his
daughter is a school nurse.) Four years
earlier, she'd come up with RAHF's legal
name by changing one letter from " Real "
to " Reel, " and she now borrowed an idea
from her career in healthcare to create
#stRONg T-shirts that family members
and RAHF supporters began wearing
that summer.
RAHF's July 25, 2015, tournament at
Hope Springs Marina was a tremendous
success, involving 82 active-duty and
retired military people, more than 100
volunteers, and boaters from around the
United States. Four B.A.S.S. Elite series
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PHOTO COURTESY FREE AKINS PHOTOGRAPHY
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Cooperative Living August 2016

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