Sharing the Stoke of Surfing: Special Surfers in Kennebunk, Maine
LeMay Family Goodworks team member Hannah Wuerthner grew up in Southern Maine, surrounded by the ocean and surfing since she was a kid. So it’s no surprise that between her love for surfing and her heart for giving back, Hannah found her way to Special Surfers—in fact, she’s been volunteering with the organization since she was 14!
Now a Board Member, Hannah remains involved with Special Surfers every summer. She and Michelle’s son, Tad, attended June and July’s events and loved every minute! While they were sad to miss August’s event due to the weather, Hannah, Tad, and the LFG team look forward to participating in the 2025 season.
Located in Kennebunk, ME, Special Surfers provides adaptive surfing opportunities for kids and young adults with special needs. Learn more about their work below.
The Special Surfers Story
Maine Seacoast nonprofit Special Surfers was founded by Nanci Boutet in 2003 as an initiative to help three kids on the spectrum. Since then, the organization has grown to a community of 10,000 friends and fans and has made a tremendous impact!
“Share the stoke of surfing with developmentally, emotionally, and physically challenged individuals one wave at a time.” They do this by offering events on the third Tuesday of each month in June, July, and August at Gooch’s Beach in Kennebunk. The events are free to participants and their families, and they include all equipment and instruction.
Hundreds of special surfers and volunteers come out for these events, essentially becoming beach parties, creating a sense of community and accomplishment for everyone.
Throughout their 20+ years, Special Surfers has been recognized with:
The Points of Light Award after being nominated by Barbara Bush
Awards from the YMCA for their volunteer turnout
Feature stories in many publications, videos, and Maine and New Hampshire news programs
Not to mention, many participants have been coming since they were old enough to participate—which just shows the powerful community they’ve built!
Get Involved with Special Surfers
If you’re located in the Maine/New Hampshire Seacoast area and would love to spend some time on the beach giving back, Special Surfers has many volunteer opportunities—and no, you don’t have to surf or even get wet! Volunteer positions include:
Wave Captain: Perfect for those with a few years of surfing experience, the Wave Captain pushes their Special Surfer to catch the wave.
Surfer’s Assistant: Those who want to be in the water but don’t have surfing experience can help their Special Surfer get off the board when their ride is done and return to the Wave Captain to help prevent collisions.
Wet Junior Hero: Volunteers under 16 who want to get wet can register and be assigned a role according to their skills.
Dry Volunteers: If you’d rather stay dry, you can help with setup, check-in, and directing people where to go.
Clean Team: These volunteers help clean boards and wet suits, then sort and load/hang them up.
Check out available Special Surfers volunteer opportunities.
Of course, there are also significant costs involved with running the program, so Special Surfers relies on the generosity of donors to keep these events going. Funds go toward supplies and equipment like wet suits, surfboards, mounted chair setups, Flexible Fins, and more.
Whether you make a one-time or recurring donation, you’ll help ensure the underlying, year-round work can be done, and the nonprofit has everything they need to continue delivering safe, fun-filled surfing experiences!
Follow Special Surfers on Instagram @specialsurfers or Facebook to keep up with their latest needs and events. And please share them with any family you feel could benefit from these unique surf therapy offerings!