BOTE + Spec-Ops Warrior Foundation

This May, BOTE Paddle Boards invited four people—three of them active or former members of the United States elite special operations forces—to participate in a charitable project called Made by the Military. The project involved the creation of a one-of-a-kind special edition paddle board that is currently up for auction online until July 4, with 100 percent of the proceeds raised going to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation (SOWF).

BOTE Made by the Military Project 2015 from BOTE Board on Vimeo.

The SOWF was founded in 1980 to aid the military’s special operations forces and their families through college scholarship grants for the children of fallen special operations forces, family and educational counseling, and financial grants to wounded special operations service members. This nonprofit organization is committed to continuing to focus on these programs, and BOTE has gotten on board this summer to help. Since the Special Operations Headquarters for the military and Eglin Air Force Base is located so close to the BOTE headquarters in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, a lot of their customers are members of the military. This is one effort to show appreciation for the dedication and sacrifice of our nation’s military men and women.

Made by the Military participants included USAF Special Tactics Combat Controllers Matt Lando and Dan Rimes and Sgt Cody Kavenaugh of the 7th Special Forces Group. The fourth member was Maddeline Voas. Maddeline was one of the recipients of the aide provided by SOWF and understands from firsthand experience how important the SOWF can be in time of need since her father was killed in Afghanistan five years ago. With the help and support of SOWF, Maddeline was able to attend college and graduated with a bachelor’s degree within three years. She is currently working towards her masters in Anthropology. Maddeline, Matt, Dan, and Cody built the board under the watchful eye and mentoring of BOTE’s head of production, Pete Buzelli.

The BOTE special edition board is a variation on the brand’s most popular model, the HD, and is outfitted with custom Americana graphics representing the patriotic theme of the project.

You can learn more about the creation of the board on BOTE’s website here.

Bid on the BOTE!

If you would like to bid on the Made by the Military special edition BOTE paddle board, or simply make a contribution to the Special Operations Warrior Foundation, visit the campaign’s website here through July 3 at noon. The goal of the campaign is to raise $5,000 for SOWF, and the winner of the board will be announced on July 4!

To learn more about SOWF, visit its website here.