Overview
Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing, Inc. began in 2005 serving wounded military service members at Walter Reed Army Medical Center returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then, PHW has expanded nationwide, establishing its highly successful program in Department of Defense hospitals, Warrior Transition Units, and Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and clinics.
Project Healing Waters helps active military service personnel and Veterans in need through a dedicated, developed curriculum of fly fishing, fly casting, fly tying, and fly rod building. In 2024 alone, we helped 6,820 participants comprised of all service eras through the generous work of 6,329 active volunteers.
We are a leading nonprofit in the area of therapeutic outdoor recreation, using the sport of fly fishing as an intervention. The restorative healing powers of nature and the outdoors are well-documented: for our Veteran and military participants, the Camaraderie, Connectedness, and community found in our programs, alongside the symbiotic relationship between Veteran and volunteer, directly correlate to increased sense of belonging, resilience, and post-traumatic growth.