Wake the World has become an annual event at Foster Lake and director Vince Castronovo said this year’s, held Monday, July 23, was one of the best.
“The weather was amazing,” said Castronovo, a Salem flooring contractor when he’s not on the water. “It was hot – but they were on a lake.”
Wake the World is a volunteer effort in which boat owners provide a day on the water for families that care for foster children. The event, now held at sites across the nation, was founded in North Carolina in 2008 and Castronovo began started it at Foster in 2011.
High-end ski boats crowded the shore at Lewis Creek Park during lunch Monday, then loaded up with kids and headed out for some fun on the water.
“It was one of the best ones,” Castronovo said. “They are all awesome, they all have their own flavor.”
He said two events were actually held this year. A total of 164 children from Agape Camp in Salem, a camp for kids who have an incarcerated parent, were taken out on Friday.
Monday’s event included 37 boats – after three drivers had to withdraw at the last minute because they were called on to battle fires, he said. A boat owner who was staying in the condos at the corner of Foster Dam Road and Highway 20 was able to step in and provide an extra boat, he said.
“He always wanted to be part of it, and we said, ‘Why not today?'” Castronovo said.
The kids totaled 150 Monday.
“We invite the whole foster family, not just the foster kids,” Castronovo said. “One foster family had 16 kids, another 12. That’s three boats.”
He said the aim is to get a whole family onto one boat.
In addition to drivers, the event also includes some 150 volunteers, “shore staff” and “boat catchers,” who are necessary because Lewis Creek isn’t really set up for longer boats and this year some docks had been removed for other events. Also among the shore staff was Oregon Marine Board Director Larry Warren and a staff member, who helped distribute life jackets to participants.
Castronovo said he’s gotten a lot of help from Linn County Parks.
“We absolutely love those guys,” he said. “They support us.”
– Scott Swanson