On a warm morning in June, a dozen folks—mostly kids and teens, along with a couple of their adult mentors—stepped onto the wobbly floating dock at the glittering edge of Smith Creek Lake Park outside Wilmington, NC. The group gathered around the kayak launch for the first day of ALL in the Water Camp. The mood was much like previous first days: exuberant, expectant, and just a little bit anxious.
2025 marked the fifth year of ALL in the Water, a collaboration funded, led, and coordinated by volunteers with the Cape Fear Chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. Like other campers before them, this group had completed swim lessons, passed water safety tests, and practiced kayaking strokes on land. They were ready to put those skills to use—first in the calm waters of Smith Creek Lake, and then, after a few days of practice, on the open waters of the Lower Cape Fear River Basin, where tidal currents and gusty winds would test their new abilities.
The far side of the lake is only a couple hundred yards away, but for many of the campers, the shift from learning to swim in a pool to paddling across open water—with no visible bottom and in an unfamiliar craft—felt momentous. For both returning participants and newcomers, it was a significant and often emotional day.
But this year wasn’t business as usual. Those of us who have been with the program since its inception knew that 2025 was different. Thanks to the generous support of local corporate donor nCino, and the invaluable connections and guidance of Tiffany Cook—an avid water lover with lifelong roots in the community—the program entered a new era of growth. Tiffany’s work as liaison, recruiter, and director brought in a new partner organization, the Boys and Girls Club of Southeastern North Carolina, which now plays a central role in the collaboration. She also helped connect another local nonprofit, Sokoto House, which serves at-risk teens. Sokoto House sent an adult representative to participate in the camp and explore future partnership opportunities.
The kids—ages 10 to 15—and the adults who joined them helped deepen our shared understanding of the program’s evolving mission: to work together to address historical barriers to aquatic skills, safety, and recreation. One of our long-term goals has been to empower young participants to become leaders in their local aquatic spaces—benefiting individually while inspiring their peers, families, and communities to connect with the water.
This year, two of our 15-year-old campers returned for their third summer—this time as part of the Boys and Girls Club summer employment program. With mentoring from professional instructors and guides, they took on new responsibilities as junior camp counselors and earned a bit of money in the process.
Some of the younger participants in the swim lessons—provided by the NSEA Swim Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club—were not yet old enough to join the camp (the minimum age is 10), but the pipeline for future years looks strong. In total, 12 campers enjoyed 12 days of aquatic adventure spread across three weeks.
After that first day of kayak instruction on the lake, the group soon graduated to bigger water. They developed confidence navigating wind and waves, overcame jitters, and reached barrier islands where they swam, collected shark teeth, and learned about the natural history of the region. Still, the highlight of the summer for nearly every participant was the Beach Day—the precious hours spent catching waves under the careful watch of Brad Turner, ALL in the Water co-founder and dedicated volunteer.
Reflecting on her first year leading youth through camp preparation and participation, Leandra Grady, Workforce Development and Aquatics Director at the Boys and Girls Club, shared:
“If you give an opportunity like this to a kid, they rise to the occasion. If we open the world to them, they learn they can do things beyond their imagination. Then, they step into their power.”
Like all collaborations among organizations with diverse missions, expectations, and constraints, there are still challenges to work through. But one belief continues to strengthen with each passing year: we all stand to gain more than we can imagine—if we’re all in the water.