FRANKLIN COUNTY, Va. – Around 100 kids from the Boys and Girls Club of Southwest Virginia hit the water Friday to enjoy a day of surfing and water skiing, among other activituies, on Smith Mountain Lake.
It's all thanks to Wake the World, a nonprofit that brings water sports to kids who otherwise may not get to experience them.
Earlier this year, the organization spent a day at the lake giving kids with disabilities the opportunity, capturing special moments.
Smith Mountain Lake boat owners, like John Dombrosky, used their boats Friday to take kids around the lake.
"It's so great. This is what's great about lake living and being around lakes. It doesn't matter -- age or where you're from or who you are. You get on a boat and you get in the lake and all differences melt away and you just start to have a good old time," Dombrosky said.
Other volunteers, like Clark Lupton, wanted to help the kids have fun on the water.
"It's pretty exciting. We just want to show them a really good time, especially around the lake. They've probably never been on the water," Lupton said.
Chris Bechtler manages Crazy Horse Marina, the starting and ending point for the festivities.
He learned of Wake the World when he was working at a marina in North Carolina, so when he started working at Smith Mountain Lake a few years ago he wanted to have some events there.
"It does get bigger every time. It seems like, once somebody volunteers, they want to keep coming back," Bechtler said.