Another “Pay it forward” moment for WUWT

Here we go again. I have been blessed with many, many friends around the world due to my creating WUWT, now in it’s 11th year. I have friends in many countries, and people reach out to me in various ways, almost always with a kind hand and a kind word. I’ve felt blessed because of the global reach this blog has. About six years ago, I started doing something to repay what this website and the kind people who read it have done for me.

First of all let me say none of you owe me anything; I’m the one who feels indebted most days. I’m asking for a small favor for those who can do it, so that I can help a friend in need, there’s no shame in passing this by. Readers may recall I’ve done similar things for people in the past, such as help a climate skeptic cattle rancher family escape the bureaucratic nightmares of Australia that had ruined their dream and lives, and helping the family of our beloved moderator, Bob E. Phelan (REP) pay for his funeral when he died unexpectedly. In December 2016, I asked WUWT readers to step up to help a former colleague who lost access to her children because she suffered from a medical issue that few people know about: postpartum depression. She got a good lawyer, went to court, and now she and her children are now back together and doing well, thanks to your help.

Most recently, WUWT readers raised almost $100K for Dr. Peter Ridd’s legal defense fund, who has been persecuted for his climate views in Australia.So, this sort of thing isn’t new to me or to this website. I’m proud to say that readers stepped up each time.

With the successes of the past, I’ve decided to use the global networking power of WUWT once a year, and only once a year to help someone in need. This year it’s a little earlier than usual, but with good reason – there’s a seasonal issue. Read on to see why.

As I said the last time I did this, I know what you are probably thinking – “why is Anthony asking for help with this“?

First, full disclosure – I have no romantic or personal relationship with this person. Second, this person won’t accept welfare or food stamps, she wants to pull herself up by her own bootstraps by creating a business that will help “over 50” men and women, along with wounded warriors and veterans who need low impact exercise as part of their rehabilitation. She’s been close to being on the streets, and I’ve helped her design a website and a business plan.

Third, I’ve been there, right where she is. Over 30 years ago I had also left television for a while, I moved away from my family, my career hit the skids, and I found myself unemployed, nearly broke, with no significant other, and severely depressed. I had $15 left in my bank account, and no prospects for employment. When I was at my worst, somebody helped me, and because of that help, it gave me a leg up and I dug myself out of that hole I fell into.

Remembering that small kindness back then that changed my life, I’m simply “paying it forward” by using my good fortune of having thousands of readers who might be able to chip in some pocket change, because that’s all that’s really needed here. If 375 people give 20 dollars, she’s met her goal, and that shouldn’t be hard to do with the thousands of daily readers we have. When I helped the Thompson family in Australia, we raised over 20 thousand dollars just like that. When our beloved moderator Bob Phelan died, we raised nearly as much. When Dr. Peter Ridd needed help against the forces of university climate warriors who would see him censured and ruined, WUWT helped him raise nearly $100K in just over two days. This is a far, far, smaller sum, and so should be easy.

The person is Olivia Sandretto, seen below.

She’s somebody who has followed me and my writings on Facebook. She’s been at the top of the corporate ladder in San Francisco, earning a six figure salary back in the day. But as many of you know, San Francisco has become an almost impossible place to live in now (even with a six figure salary it’s often not enough), and she left it behind. After a long transition period, she’s finally found a new calling, and here is what she wants to do. She wants to help people learn to Kayak.

Now, at first, I thought this was a ridiculous idea. I mean, c’mon, how hard can it be? But the more I listened, the more I realized that she’s onto something, especially when it comes to over 50 people who have become sedentary and are afraid to try outdoor activities for fear of getting hurt. And she’s done her research, mapping out dozens of locations around Northern California herself, often doing this with nothing more than a backpack, sleeping bag, and a kayak, so that she could say she knows the landscape, knows the lakes, knows the sport.

Her points are simple: She wants people to find themselves again on the water. She writes on her webpage: (yes, I helped her set this up)

“…culmination of hundreds of hours of direct experiential research and adventure in flat water kayaking. It manifests a deep, directly learned belief that flat water kayaking can strengthen your ability to face life’s challenges, subvert the damaging effects of stress, and bring about healing & self renewal.”

It’s one of the few sports where you don’t have to compete against anyone, is low impact, provides exercise and strengthens coordination, and costs very little to engage it. It also gives a sense of serenity. Some people get this from fishing.

In this activity, you can do that too, but go where the fish actually are.

She wants to:

Provide private & group adult lessons in introductory/intermediate flat water kayaking, with particular emphasis on introducing the benefits of this low-impact, whole-body workout to adults 50+
Support our community by bringing kayaking programs to our local Veterans Assistance organizations, Senior centers and Rehab facilities

The website where she outlines her goals and offering is HERE. Some of fantastic venues she’s making available for people to explore and learn at can be seen here.

To get started, she needs about $7500, that will get her four kayaks, safety gear, and a trailer to transport it all. For many of us, that’s not a lot of money, for some people. For others, it can be an impossible hurdle.

So, pocket change, ten or twenty bucks that’s all I ask on her behalf. Maybe take a sack lunch this week, or forgo having the usual morning Starbucks latte, or some other small thing- it all adds up. Best of all though, if you live in California, and you can do more than that, you can get something back, for yourself, or as a gift for family and friends because she’ll give you a lesson which is transferable to anyone via certificate.