Casting for Recovery

Volunteer with Casting for Recovery

Thank you for your interest in volunteering for Casting for Recovery. There are two basic kinds of volunteer positions - Retreat Planners and Retreat Staff. Volunteers can also help us by tying flies for use at the retreats, and assisting with various administrative and marketing tasks.

To ensure the best possible experience for both our retreat participants and volunteers, we have a screening and training process. Complete and return to us the Volunteer Application. When an opportunity arises, we will contact you to move forward.

Thank you for caring enough to give the gift of yourself. Your time and expertise is important to us and to the breast cancer survivors we serve. If you have any questions, please contact
volunteersupport@castingforrecovery.org

Retreat Planners

A "team" of retreat planners, led by a Planning Coordinator, performs the many varied tasks associated with planning a retreat. Time commitments vary according to the position. Planning takes place throughout the year and generally requires communication with other team members and attendance at meetings.

Planning team volunteers should have the ability to communicate by telephone and e-mail and, for some positions, experience with word processing and spreadsheets is helpful to the planning process.

	Planning Coordinator
	Works closely with CFR staff throughout the year to complete all the tasks associated with organizing a retreat. Coordinates the efforts of the retreat planning team.

	Facility Contact
	Coordinates all arrangements with the retreat facility.

	Fundraising
	Works with CFR to meet fundraising requirements.

	Outreach
	Informs healthcare organizations, businesses and community members about CFR. Helps with recruiting breast cancer survivors for participation in the program.

	Participant Contact
	Communicates with participants in the weeks prior to the retreat to help them with their travel arrangements, questions, etc.

	Gift Bag Coordinator
	Collects items for gift bags presented to the participants.

Other Retreat Volunteers

These positions require a commitment of half a day during the retreat:

	River Helper
	Instructional guide during catch and release fishing, usually Sunday morning through lunch. Previous experience instructing and guiding. Men and women welcome.

	Greeter
	Welcome participants as they arrive at the retreat, usually Friday afternoon/evening. Past participants are most desirable for this position.

Please inquire about other positions not listed here that may be available. Casting for Recovery always welcomes your interest in helping us bring our program to breast cancer survivors.

Retreat Staff

The following retreat staff positions require a commitment to attend the entire retreat (Friday midday through late Sunday afternoon). We have found that it is better for all concerned if women fill these positions and that they are over 21 years of age. The cost to volunteers is travel to the retreat.

	Retreat Leader
	Responsible for the management of the retreat during the course of the weekend, according to established guidelines and protocol. Attendance at a training session and previous experience instructing at a retreat is required.

	Psychosocial Facilitator
	Leader of group sessions, emotional support system for participants and staff. A professional psychotherapist with experience leading group sessions.

	Medical Facilitator
	Serves as a resource and reassuring presence to participants; works closely with psychosocial facilitator. Leads warm-up exercises before casting practice, and presents an informational session. A medical professional knowledgeable about breast cancer, its treatments, and potential complications (loss of motion, lymphedema, fatigue).

	Fly Fishing Instructor
	Leads and/or assists with fly-fishing demonstrations and classroom sessions according to CFR casting/instructor protocol. Instructional guide for catch and release fishing. Previous experience as a fly-fishing instructor, a team player, and excellent communication skills.

	Hospitality
	General support for participants and staff throughout the retreat. Past participants are most desirable for this position.

Fly Donations

Many thanks to the numerous groups and individuals who have responded to our appeal and have donated flies for our program! We have had a tremendous response from individuals and clubs around the country.

We are using the flies that have been donated not only for fishing at the retreats, but we have also received special collections of flies which have been utilized for fundraising and several groups and individuals have donated a box of flies for each participant at a particular retreat.

If you are interested in contributing flies to CFR, see the list below.

FLIES NEEDED:

For fishing – Bead-head Nymphs (sizes 10, 12); Attractor Dry Flies (sizes 8-12); Terrestrials (sizes 10, 12); Wooly Buggers (lightly weighted, sizes 6, 8); Parachute Adams (sizes 10,12)
For fundraising – Special Flies or Collections (by exceptional tiers)
For participants – Put together a box of flies for each participant, each with an assortment of 6-12 flies. There are 14 participants at each retreat.
For prize drawings at the retreats – put together a box of flies for one lucky participant.

These flies are distributed where needed. If you would like to donate flies to a specific retreat, let us know! .

Please send flies to Casting for Recovery at our contact address.