Indo Jax Surf School, Wilmington, NC | 910.274.3565

Indo Jax surf crew returns to Wilmington following a life-changing charity surf camp for the girls at the Home of Hope orphanage in India (the girls had previously been living on the streets of India, forced into begging and prostitution). Jack Viorel, Dave Houck, and Dale Carter from Indo Jax, and two sisters and twenty-three girls from the Home of Hope orphanage, journeyed over 200-miles in a bus to Varkala Beach in southwest India in order to experience the joys of surfing. And what an experience they had! Completely unfamiliar with surfing, and most unable to swim, the girls were guided through their fear and apprehension as they took to the water. At first tentative, they were soon riding waves with confidence, a huge smile on their faces as their orphanage friends and the sisters cheered them on. After three memorable days of surfing, we all piled into the bus for our return trip to the orphanage, the girls singing and dancing the entire way in celebration of a new life experience that will no doubt empower them to take on even greater challenges.

After a week of getting settled, getting to know the girls from the Home of Hope Orphanage, and scouting the southwest coast of India, our outreach surf camp with the girls of Home of Hope is underway! Instructors from Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard School and Ocean Cure had a blast the past two days putting on this charity surf camp for these girls who had previously been living on the streets of India. We still have two more fun filled days to go here in Varkala Beach before we start heading back to Kochi, then return home to the states April 11. Stay tuned for the complete story after our return that will be covered in local, nationwide and international publications. This has been an experience of a lifetime for both the girls and us.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wilmington, North Carolina – March 22, 2010
On March 27, 2010, four surf instructors from Indo Jax Surf School and the non-profit organization, Ocean Cure, will be heading to the Home of Hope orphanage in Kochi, India to run a charity surf camp for a group of young girls that had previously been living on the streets of India, forced into begging and prostitution.

Through previous charity surf camps in Wrightsville Beach and Carolina Beach for medically fragile and at-risk youth, Ocean Cure has witnessed firsthand the powerful emotional and physical healing properties of the ocean, and surfing itself.

During their upcoming charity surf camp in India, Ocean Cure will guide the participants through their fear and apprehension around an activity that they otherwise had never considered possible. Similar to previous charity surf camps, Ocean Cure fully anticipates that the girls will move from fear and apprehension to joy and empowerment, the sense that, “If I can surf, I can do anything!”

Ocean Cure will engage the girls in other enriching activities during their stay, including a field trip, readings, and letter writing to pen-pals in the United States. And Ocean Cure fully intends to return next year to continue their work on behalf of the girls at the Home of Hope orphanage.

Contact:
Jack Viorel
Director of Charity Surf Camps, Ocean Cure
8935 Tilbury Dr.
Wilmington, North Carolina 28411
(910) 274-3565
jack@indojaxsurfschool.com

The Indo Jax/Ocean Cure Documentary is finished and premiering Thursday March 18th at the Tileston Upper Room in Historic Downtown Wilmington. $5 gets you free food, free soft drinks, live music and much more. The Noseriders are playing the music. This is a very kid friendly event with face painting and crafts. Great Silent Auction items. Beer and Wine served by Wilmington Wine and food provided by Mellow Mushroom. Proceeds go to Suzanne Stanley whose house recently burned down and to Ocean Cure. Please come join us and check out this touching documentary.

Surfers Healing is holding their big yearly fundraiser on Sunday March 14th at the Grand Union Pub from 11 am to 10 pm.
Surfers Healing is a wonderful event for children on the autism spectrum. They get the chance to enjoy a day in the surf with several professional surfers, including Izzy Paskowitz the founder of the organization. Please come out and support our friends at this evetnt that’s sure to be a great time for all.
Indo Jax is proud to be a sponsor of the Surfers Healing event and honored to be the local surf school that gets to be in the water helping surf with some of the children during this wonderful event. We have met so many great people each year and have made a long term committment to this event.

Kevin Murphy received a much deserved award at the conscience fair last Saturday. His commitment to helping others and the environment is unparalleled and comes straight from the heart.
When Kevin and I started Indo Jax and then eventually Ocean Cure it was with an absolute dedication to serving and helping those less fortunate. We knew nothing of running a business, we didn’t really care about making any money, we just wanted to help others through surfing. Since our inception we have been driven to help uplift the needy. I believe it is this steadfast dedication to our mission statement “We are nothing if we don’t give back” that has got us to this point, that has lead Kevin to receive honors like the one he received Saturday, that has lead so many others to want to help promote this program. What makes Kevin and Ocean Cure so special is not just the numerous surf camps for the medically fragile, special needs and at-risk youth, nor the scholarship program that runs through the summer at both the Carolina Beach and Wrightsville locations, nor the the environmental program 90 Days to Earth Day, nor the enormous amount of money Indo Jax spends on charity. It’s the things people don’t see that make this company so special, that help us attract the best instructors, that has lead to our continued growth and success. Yes, Kevin put together and lead Life Rolls On at Wrightsville Beach, and it got a lot of media attention. But what people didn’t see was Kevin taking one of the participants out surfing 1-2 times a week after that. On his own time, for no other reason, but because he wanted to help someone less fortunate. Yes we had an incredible surf camp with the Wounded Warrior Project in the Outer Banks. What people didn’t see is the soldier that came to stay with us week after week to keep up his surfing. That’s the real giving back, that’s why we started this thing, that’s why it will continue. The difference for people like Kevin and Ocean Cure is we do it because we love it. It’s not about the business, it’s not money, it’s simply because we love it.
Congratulations Kevin, that was a much deserved award!

Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard School hopes everyone had a great holiday and is off to a wonderful start to their 2010 New Year. We can’t tell you how much we are looking forward to the 2010 season. We have a bunch of new programs planned for both the Ocean Cure and Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard School Programs.

Our Ocean Cure Charity Surf Camps are filling up with some incredible outreach surf camps. we are also adding kitesurfing to the mix, So now our Ocean Cure Surf Camps will include both surf camps and kitesurf camps. We think these adventure surf camps are going to be absolutely incredible experiences for the medically fragile, special needs and at risk youth we serve. Our schedule is posted on the Ocean Cure page so check it out. We still have open dates so if you have a group that you think will benefit from one of our camps please let us know.

As far as Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard school goes, we have added a whole bunch of new programs.

First of all, we have created an all day adventure surf camp to our program. This surf program will include surfing, stand up paddle boarding (SUP), beginning kitesurfing, skateboarding, aquarium visits, tubing and much more. This class runs from 8:30 am-5:30 pm Monday through Friday and includes all equipment, snacks and lunches. This program is for ages 10 and up. This incredible adventure is only $495 per person/per week.

We have also added the Half Day Surf Camp. This program includes our regular am surf camp, but adds snack, stand up paddle boarding (SUP), body boarding, and body surfing. This program includes all equipment and snack, and is for all ages. Price per person is only $395 per person per week.

We are increasing our Oak Island Surf Camp to 3 days a week. Our surf school program works in conjunction with the Oak Island Parks and Recreation Department.

We are also adding a Topsail Island Surf Camp. This will be a 1 day a week surf camp every Wednesday evening for all ages.

Our After School Surf Program is in full force even in this cold weather. We meet every Friday afternoon from 4-5:15. We supply all the surfboards and wetsuits. We have 7 people in this program and are capping it at 10, so space is limited. Cost per person per session is only $30 so come on out and join our Friday afternoon after school surf program.

We look forward to seeing you in the water this year!!

I can’t believe it, but our 2010 Charity Surf Camp schedule is already filling up! Pretty much all of the surf camps we did last year are returning. In addition we have some incredible new additions to our outreach surf school program schedule including two surf camps abroad.

Jan 22nd-April 22nd-90 Days to Earth Day
March- Boys and Girls Club
April-Home of Hope Orphanage Kochi India
May-Cancer Patients from Duke Medical Center
-CHOICES At Risk After School Program
June-CARE Coastal Aids Resource Effort
July-Visually Impaired
August-Life Rolls On
-Surfer’s Healing
-Autism
September-Wounded Warriors
-Phuket, Thailand
October-open date
November-open date
We are looking forward to an even bigger and better charity surf camp season, we hope you all will continue to support all the charity work we do.
I would also like to announce the addition of a new surf instructor Dale Carter. I met Dale on a surf trip to Fiji some years back, and we’ve remained friends ever since. After hearing about Ocean Cure and our charity surf camps, Dale volunteered for our Visually Impaired Surf Camp in 09. He enjoyed it so much he’s decided to join our team. Dale is a certified teacher, yoga instructor, photographer, writer, and fantastic surfer. He is joining us on our India adventure and will be documenting our trip with photos and essays about our surf camp with the orphaned girls of Home Of Hope. Upon our return from India, Dale will be joining our team as an instructor for Indo Jax and fundraiser for Ocean Cure. Welcome aboard Dale!

This past Fall, Indo Jax Surf and Kiteboard School introduced the Fall Weekend Surf Camps for September and October. They were a huge hit! These classes transformed into a once per week after school surf program that has continued on through November and December. Tomorrow we will hold our last surf class for 09. How amazing it is to have this program continue into the winter months. Indo Jax provides all the equipment, including wetsuits for this “one of a kind” program. Ava, Lilly, Nora, Patricia, Hunt, Kelby, Thomas, and Tommy, great job out there, you all are hard core! We will resume our Friday After School Program after the holidays on Jan 8th. In April, we will be significantly expanding the After School Surf Program, so stay tuned.
Thanks!
Jack

Hope From Helen last Friday was incredible. What a blast it was to see so many people from the surf community. And all the mustaches!! Tony Butler, great job on that event, what you’ve done to bring the surf community together is incredible. Indo Jax Surf and Kite Board School was proud to sponsor the event, and more importantly Ocean Cure is honored to be one of the benefactors. Thanks Tony for including us, we really appreciate it!
Jack and all of us at Indo Jax and Ocean Cure