On February 10, 2012 the top fundraiser of SurfAid’s first ever ‘Get On Board’ fundraising contest was announced.  Matt Belden of Surfbreak Rentals and a friend will be joining an all-star lineup for a once-in-a-lifetime Mentawai surf trip.

On March 7th, Matt and his friend will leave for the Mentawai Islands, alongside Quiksilver pros Balaram Stack and Ry Craike, and representatives of the Quiksilver Foundation, Quiksilver Travel, SDSU Center for Surf Research, and SurfAid.

Matt’s fundraising efforts not only won for him two spots on the Mentawai surf trip, but also raised an amazing $4,300 for SurfAid.

Here’s an excerpt of Matt’s thanks to everyone who donated toward his fundraising, “I have never done something like this before and our goal was to raise SurfAid 5K and let people know that we may be about global vacation rentals but, at the end of the day, we care about the communities and people that live where we travel to find waves. When I found out that we got first place I realized how lucky we are have to such generous friends.” –Matt Belden, CEO Surfbreak Rentals



Coming in second place was long-time SurfAid supporter Steve Hindman.  Steve’s fundraising efforts could be seen all over the internet and social media, and his hard work raised $2,200 for SurfAid.  Steve qualified for several incentive gifts for reaching certain fundraising goals.  Steve will be receiving Quiksilver and SurfAid gear in addition to our deepest gratitude for his efforts and continued support.

Coming in third place was Kim Dang.  Kim raised $1,170 for SurfAid and also qualified to receive Quiksilver and SurfAid incentive gifts.

In total, the ‘Get On Board’ campaign raised $17,541 for SurfAid.  These funds will help further SurfAid’s work on the Mentawai and Nias islands.

SurfAid would also like to recognize Chris Von Clem who learned of SurfAid through the ‘Get On Board’ campaign.  Chris chose not to compete in the contest, but instead generously donated $7,500 to SurfAid through his family fund.

In addition to our fundraisers and donors, SurfAid would like to thank and recognize everyone who made this campaign possible: Quiksilver Foundation and Quiksilver Travel for offering the trip openings to SurfAid and for providing the incentive gifts for eligible fundraisers; SDSU Center for Surf Research for providing information on sustainable tourism for our winners on the trip; Melaleuca charter boat for providing the trip charter boat; and to Gary Sirota and the Coastal Law Group, who generously provided pro bono legal advice and guidance.

Thank you to Matt, Steve, Kim and all of the amazing fundraisers who participated in the ‘Get On Board’ campaign.  Your hard work and support will help save lives.