Donations can be made here through the end of the year. (Photo courtesy of the GRP)
December 21, 2022
By Fly Fisherman Staff
The Guide Relief Program (GRP) has announced that the Orvis Company is matching donations to the fund up to $10,000, through the end of the year.
“We are so grateful that Orvis has seen the value that GRP brings to the guide community and the industry,” said a statement on the GRP’s website. “As we grow, these funds are critical as we continue to offer small grants and access to mental health services to guides around the country.”
The Guide Relief Fund was established in 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic restricted travel, impacting many guides’ and outfitters’ income. Its stated mission is to provide financial assistance to fishing guides when crisis befalls them. It has awarded many grants to date averaging $2,100, and it is hoping to be able to increase that amount for 2023. The GRP also offers two free months of mental health counseling with BetterHelp to all approved fishing-guide applicants .
According to guidereliefprogram.org/ : “The nonstop communication and logistical efforts with customers, gear wrangling, gassing up, meal prep, drive time, and end-of-day gear maintenance stack up to make a guide day anything but a 9-5’er, and many seasonal guides go hard for dozens–sometimes hundreds–of days in a row. If something happens to go sideways, they are left to their own devices. Often they do not have the resources.”
(Photo courtesy of the GRP) Orvis supports many other conservation and inclusion-based non-profit initiatives as well, including Brown Folks Fishing, PetFinder, the Everglades Foundation, and more, as well as committing 5% of pre-tax profits to “protecting and sustaining the natural world, not only now, but for all who follow.”
Donations to the GRP can be made at this link.
