Though the creation of the board may be
therapeutic, "our therapy is just getting out and
surfing, and just the community," says Garnett. On
the third Saturday of every month, rain or shine, the
group meets to surf off of 17th Street in Del Mar from
7 to 10am. "We have what we call 'Third Saturdays' all
over the U.S., in Hawaii, on the East Coast, Florida,
and Texas, and that just gives us more opportunity to
go surf as a group. We also use [texting app] GroupMe
and have regional threads within that which enables
people to connect, keeping people from isolating and
staying home," he says. "Many people with PTS might
isolate, but if you've got some other folks who you
might go surf with, it makes people 'get off the couch,'
we like to say."
The organization, which is dependent on donations
to fulfill requests, aims to help between 100 and 200
veterans annually. Challenges from the pandemic
have hampered their ability to fundraise, so their
primary mission is to continue supporting its
established chapters before expanding further.
"We're really focused on excellent support for the
people we have, and then expanding, absolutely, but
we're not in a big rush to go super big," says Garnett.
"We want to keep it very personal for everybody."
onemorewave.com DEANNA MURPHY
Focus
philanthropy
One More Wave provides adaptive
surfing equipment to veterans
regardless of their kind of injury
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42 DECEMBER 2021 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE
PHOTO
COURTESY
OF
ONE
MORE
WAVE
"Our therapy
is just getting
out there and
surfing"
