On July 16, Surf for All held its fifth annual outing for the blind and visually impaired, and about 20 students took part. The events were part of Surf Week (story, page 14).

At both outings, Surf For All used new WaveJet surfboards, which have a built-in propulsion system that helps those who have difficulty paddling out on their own to catch waves with less assistance. Last month, Surf for All raised $8,000 at a fundraiser at the Park Sports Bar & Grill to purchase three WaveJet boards.

“It helps people with physical disabilities more because it paddles for them,” Cliff Skudin explained. “It helps the instructor too, not having to paddle, because you can focus more on the student. Thanks to all who came to the Surf for All fundraiser in June, and a special thanks to Project 11561, the Kiwanis Club of the Peninsula Hewlett New York, Waterfront Warriors and the Michelle O’Neill Foundation.”

Overcoming the odds

Keanu Resnick, who has a form of dwarfism and is legally blind, has attended the Henry Viscardi School for 10 years. “It’s amazing,” his mother said of the event. “It’s priceless to be able to see these kids go to the beach — their faces when they come in, the amount of joy.”

Elsie Resnick and her daughter, Yasmin, watched as children traded specially designed wheelchairs for surfboards and entered the water with instructors. Some well-known professional surfers also volunteered that day — including Will Skudin, who was named 2013 Surfer of the Year by Eastern Surfing Magazine, and Balaram Stack.

“Look at the good that it does to the kids who otherwise would never ever be exposed to this,” Resnick said. “A lot of these kids are from the city, so it’s difficult for families to even get to the beach.”

She said that with the occupational therapy and technology that the school provides, her son and his classmates are learning how to be independent and self-sufficient. “The teachers that work at Viscardi are amazing,” she said.

Before she began working at the Skudin Surf School, Long Beach resident and Surf for All volunteer Allison Salgado was an art teacher for five years. Coincidentally, part of her training took place at the Viscardi School.