OC Nonprofit Makes 'SurfDreams' Come True For At-Risk Kids
HUNTINGTON BEACH (CBSLA) — It was a day full of excitement — and maybe a little bit of fear — for a lucky group of kids Sunday, as they surfed for the very first time.
The children were part of the introduction to hanging-ten put on by SurfDreams, a nonprofit started by Clint Carroll, son of Huntington Beach surf legend and world surfing champion Corky Carroll. They provide surfing workshops to at-risk kids who would otherwise probably rarely go to the beach, let alone surf.
"I don't go often because it's pretty far," Joshua Gonzalez of Hacienda Heights told CBS2. "It's a good hour drive."
On hand was California Assemblyman Travis Allen, whose wish is that the kids come back to to the beach.
"Our hope is that once they feel that surf, get that wave underneath their feet, they just keep coming back for more," he told CBS2.
About 30 kids were fitted for wetsuits, given a crash course, and hit the waves.
Sometimes the waves hit back, but those rookie jitters washed away with the surf.
By the end of the day, Presley Villegas of Artesia was raring to get back into the water and was even using some surfer slang.
"I was pretty scared when I was going out into the water because I thought I was going to get 'wiped out' by the waves, which I did, but I'm here. I'm still alive."
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