Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat forever.
Duke freshman Lucas Metropulos founded Fishing for Families in Need, a program that teaches low-income children to fish and distributes fish to local soup kitchens and other such places that can utilize this valuable natural resource.
Metropulos started this program in his hometown of Boca Raton, Florida when he was 15, after a trip to the Bahamas where he donated all excess fish that he caught to an impoverished area of the island.
“We go out and fish a lot and the excess fish we have, we give to the poorer areas," he said. "It’s a great thing. Kids run up to us and thank us.”
After returning from his trip, Metropulos conceptualized Fishing for Families in Need and began working to gather the resources necessary to begin such a program. He contacted local fishing supply stores asking for donations, but they all denied his requests so he contacted his local newspaper asking for help. The Palm Beach Post published his appeal for donations and Metropulos was soon contacted by widows who still had their late-husbands unused fishing rods.
“So it was really funny,” Metropulos says with a chuckle, “I received all my first donations from the widows.”
With these resources in hand, Metropulos partnered with the Florence Fuller Child Development Center, a center for under-privileged youth, and began teaching an after school fishing class for kids from ages eight to 12 years old.
His class was wildly popular, and Fishing for Families in Need grew by leaps and bounds. Metropulos raised money through various grants, including a $10,000 grant which was given to him as a recipient of the National Make A Difference Day Award, to further help kids. Fishing for Families in Need continues to teach children to fish and now takes them on field trips aimed to further their education and promote maritime conservation.
“Seeing the kids I teach grasp new skills, and the triumph they feel when they reel in their first catch are invaluable experiences that I hope will empower them in all areas of their lives,” he said.
Since coming to Duke, Metropulos has overseen the expansion of Fishing for Families in Need to Martha’s Vineyard and New Orleans. Metropulos has also partnered with the Ronald McDonald House in Durham to help families with children in Duke Hospital and plans to work with the Durham Boys and Girls Club in the Spring.
Metropulos—a Public Policy major, Economics minor and Maritime Leadership and Conservation certificate—is not slowing down and plans to continue his philanthropy throughout his career at Duke and beyond.
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