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Date: 8/15/2023
HOLYOKE — Holyoke native Harold Skelton is bringing fundraising efforts back to his hometown on Aug. 19 and 20 in what was supposed to be the first annual “Battle of the Bottom Catfish Tournament” but now will feature fundraising celebrations with money going toward their mission of helping veterans and their mental health through a therapeutic approach.
2023 was supposed to be the first year of the Fishing for the Mission 22’s “Battle of the Bottom Catfish Tournament,” but due to the recent rainstorms and rising level of the Connecticut River, it has been canceled.
“The river’s still so high so we’re just worried about safety because it’s so flooded,” Skelton said.
However, Skelton still felt a homecoming fundraiser was needed to raise money in their continued fight for veterans.
“I grew up in Holyoke, so I wanted to host an event out there to raise money to help vets in Western Mass. too,” said Skelton, who now lives on Cape Cod and focuses the organization’s work in that area due to easy access to fishing trips or tournaments by the sea. “We’re hoping to raise money. The main reason we do these is so we can support doing more for veterans in Western Mass. by getting them out here on the cape or other fishing experiences.”
Skelton said while the fishing itself is off, fundraising will still be going on during the weekend starting on Saturday, Aug. 19 with Operation WingFest. Fishing for the Mission 22 presents the Wing Festival and Cornhole Tournament from 1-5 p.m. with cash payouts split 50/50 between Fishing for the Mission 22 and to cornhole tournament winners.
The 64-team cornhole tournament is $40 to enter, wings and food vendors will be on site, and a wing eating contest will happen as well. Celebrity judges for the wing eating contest feature Holyoke Mayor Joshua Garcia, state Sen. John Velis, Holyoke City Clerk Brenna Murphy McGee, Greater Chamber Executive Director Jordan Hart, and CEO of Canna Provisions Megan Sanders.
Operation WingFest will take place at the Holyoke Country Club and will feature live music with The Hames Germana Band and Matthew Spence & The Churchkey Choir. Guest tickets for Operation WingFest will be $10. To purchase, visit https://fishingforthemission22.org/event/operation-wingfest/.
Fundraising will continue at Pic’s Pub the following day, Aug. 20 as the restaurant is a familiar partner as he has raised a few thousand dollars in previous fundraising events. There will be raffles available.
Fishing for the Mission 22 is a 501c3 nonprofit which offers a therapeutic approach to help heal veterans through fishing while raising awareness to the 22 plus veterans lost to suicide every day in the United States. Since the war on terror began in 2001, there have been over 7,000 combat related deaths, and in the same period, there have been over 120,000 veteran suicides.
“This is not only a public health crisis, but unacceptable. Only 1% of our nation joins the armed forces and it’s the duty of the remaining 99% to help our veterans in crisis,” Fishing for the Mission22’s mission statement states. “The impact of our fishing outings on veterans’ lives is immeasurable. By providing them with a therapeutic and enjoyable experience, we witness firsthand the positive effects it has on their mental, emotional and physical well-being.”
Skelton himself is a disabled Iraq veteran who experienced the same issue he now is combating through the organization. Skelton personally endured the profound challenges of post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal thoughts and depression stemming from his military service. Skelton has journeyed through those challenges and has come out of it looking to help those who are struggling as he has.
The tournament and fundraiser events are being dedicated in memory and honor of Mathew J. Vieu, a Marine veteran who suffered from PTSD for over a decade and tragically took his life in 2015. Following his death, The Mathew J. Vieu Memorial Fund was created.
Skelton chose to honor Vieu after reaching out to Vieu’s sister, who he had met through past Fishing for the Mission tournaments.
“It’s a way of raising awareness and remembering a young veteran that we lost from our local area of Western Massachusetts [The Mathew J. Vieu] foundation has raised a lot of money to help out veterans’ transitions so they make life a little bit easier for veterans in that transitional period and who are struggling financially,” Skelton said.
The money raised in honor of Vieu through the Fishing for the Mission 22 fundraisers will go directly to support and fund a division of its therapeutic fishing program. In the past the nonprofit has given out fishing licenses to veterans on the Cape and on fishing trips.
According to Skelton, Fishing for the Mission 22 has attracted over 125 veterans in the past two months of fishing season to fish and have also enrolled veterans in their mentorship program designed to connect veterans on fishing trips and days on the sea. These are just some of the opportunities the nonprofit looks to connect veterans through.
For Skelton, being able to give back in this way and help veterans struggling with PTSD and other effects from service as he once did, is rewarding.
“I get to see vets happy and smiling. There’s something in society today that’s making us lose 22 a day. One of the biggest demographics of people who take their lives are veterans and it doesn’t matter what the age is,” Skelton said. “It’s cool that I’ve been able to take all kinds of eras of veterans all the way up to Vietnam vets. We have a very diverse selection of veterans and just being able to see people smiling and some of the feedback they give me is really cool.”
Reflecting on his own journey, Skelton said his PTSD challenged him emotionally and socially as he felt a disconnect after returning from service. He added he has seen people through his work in Fishing for the Mission 22 who are coming from similar experiences be able to connect and begin to get help overcoming their PTSD through the support system they have built and continue to build.
Skelton moved to the Cape three years ago as he knew in order to pull off Fishing for the Mission 22, a location closer to the ocean would make it possible for more successful fishing tournaments and their turnouts. The decision seems to be one that has left Skelton with zero regrets.
“I kind of just worked hard and started the nonprofit here to hopefully give some vets a second chance of looking at life where it’s not that bad, they can get through it all. Fishing’s a real peaceful sport and could be considered recreation therapy, so it’s just a good way to get people in nature, seeing we can all relate somehow, we’ve just got to keep working hard to keep pushing and moving forward and try and take care of your mental health as best you can.”