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PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY OF CAST HOPE Focus philanthropy Cast Hope e outdoorsy of us know what therapy simple fresh air can be. So when the team at Cast Hope takes underserved youth from San Diego's more urban areas outside, it not only opens kids' eyes to parts of the county they likely didn't know existed or had never visited — watersheds, reservoirs, lakes, even the bay — but it opens their minds to the world beyond the day-to-day challenges they may face. While at its foundation, Cast Hope is an organization dedicated to teaching its participants along with a mentor of their choice how to fly fish, Southern California Regional Director Conway Bowman believes it's much more. "e focus is fly fishing, but what I find is that fly fishing is just the key that opens the door to more opportunity for these kids. ey get out there…and they're also observing nature. ey're looking at bald eagles nesting, they're watching mule deer walking in front of them, they're connecting with the water and the soil, and then we teach them about where the water even comes from," he says. Unlike other organizations, the goal isn't simply to create one-on-one opportunities with the participants a couple times a month. Instead, Bowman explains, "Obviously we're teaching them, but we want to give them the tools so they can go out and do it themselves, because that's how they will become the next great ambassadors to the outdoors, and honestly, that's the future." << @ranchandcoast ranchandcoast.com 40 DECEMBER 2022 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE "The focus is fly fishing, but what I find is that fly fishing is just the key that opens the door to more opportunity for these kids," says Conway Bowman of Cast Hope Cast Hope participants show off their catch of the day