Tom Goodrich was activated to go to Afghanistan in 2003, where his job with the Army was to persuade representatives of international armed forces to participate in the war on terror in Afghanistan to free up U.S. forces to focus on Iraq. But there was a lot of downtime in the war on terror, and Goodrich had to decide what to do with his life. He was sitting in an Army tent in sweltering, dusty Afghanistan, typing an e-mail to his family when he got a message from God. It was a feeling in his head and his heart that he didn’t understand at first. Something about 10,000 kids. 

At the time, the Army captain was writing a book for his son and thought, “Cool—10,000 kids will read this book.” He meditated on it; God elaborated. Goodrich discerned that he was supposed to go home and motivate 10,000 kids to raise money for the inner city.

He returned to Minnesota in April 2004 with the rank of major and a Bronze Star. And the avid sportsman came home determined to start an organization called Fishing for Life and start an annual Fish-A-Thon through which young people raise money for church-based programs for inner-city youths.

Founded in 2004, Fishing for Life has spent more than a decade serving youth, families, veterans & communities through fishing and outdoor programs.

Attend the meeting to learn more and check out their website: Fishing for Life.