Fishing Derby set for children with disabilities

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Sponsors and volunteers are needed for this event. For more information on helping or attending, please call Doris Clarkston, president of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Benefit for the Disabled at (248) 618-8900 or William FitzGerald (CQ), the vice president of the nonprofit at (248) 736-9023. Those interested can visit the website at www.ocsdbenefit.org.

By JERRY WOLFFE

The 28th Annual Disabled Children’s Fishing Derby, sponsored by the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office, is scheduled for Aug. 13 at Dodge Park No. 4 in Waterford between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

More than 100 volunteers will help an estimated 700 children with physical and cognitive impairments have a “great day of boat rides, games, and food and fun,” according to Doris Clarkston, the president of the Oakland County Sheriff’s Office Benefit for the Disabled.

“We also will have the command staff at the fishing derby to help cook and serve food,” Clarkston said. She added that the Sheriff’s Department’s Marine Safety Division/Dive Team and an EMS unit will be at the Cass Lake location where the park is located “to ensure the safety of the children and other participants on the water.”

Our Lady of the Lakes High School Football team will be in attendance at the park at 4250 Parkway to help load the children into and off of Pontoon boats. Owners of the boats have volunteered them for the outing.

“A lot of these children seldom have opportunities to go boating and be in a park,” she said. “We are working as an organization to build an accessible playground to enhance the park experience.”

The department will provide lunch, fishing poles, games, and fun for each child. The children with disabilities will come from all over Oakland County “to have a great day,” Clarkston said.

Jerry Wolffe is the writer-in-residence/advocate-at-large at the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center. He can be reached at 586 263-8950.