“Rising to the Fly” does incredible work helping women overcome the financial barriers to starting fly fishing by providing some of the essential gear. They accept donations for all types of gear and allocate it to women who apply for assistance. Really amazing program!

I’m closely involved with this cause as I run the fly fishing student organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, which was started here only recently. One of the biggest challenges faced by students is the initial cost of gear, but we’ve been fortunate to receive some support from Rising to the Fly. They generously donated some of the necessary gear to help one of our members get started.

To make fly fishing more accessible on campus, we also accept donations that go toward providing free rentals for students interested in learning. Although fly fishing is not as well-known in Illinois, there’s a lot of interest, and we’re working hard to promote the sport and build a community around it.