School of Fish
Gabe Crivelli ’23 gets local kids outside and hooked on fishing
In an age of increasing screen time, fishing may not be as popular a hobby as it once was—but Gabe Crivelli ’23 is trying to change that. With his nonprofit organization, Fishing Friends, Crivelli is mentoring kids, helping them appreciate and respect nature, and teaching them a skill he hopes will bring them a lifetime of enjoyment. We recently caught up with him to talk about his work.
What did fishing mean to you when you were a kid?
Fishing meant the world to me when I was a kid. Ever since I could walk, I was holding a fishing pole in my hand. My dad and my grandfather, they taught me how to fish. My dad died when I was 12, and my grandfather died shortly after him. I used fishing as a way to honor their memory, stay connected with them, and handle the mental health issues that came along with losing both of my father figures.
During the pandemic, I started taking my nieces and my nephews fishing, my friends and my family, and I got phenomenal reviews across the board. Everyone would tell me how much they loved it, how much fun they had, and how many fish they caught. But along with that, I would also hear, “I haven’t done this in a decade,” or, “I've never done this in my entire life.” When I realized that there are kids in the community, fatherless youth who don’t get that opportunity to learn how to fish and bond with a male mentor, we wanted to give those kids that opportunity. Give them an opportunity to get off of their electronics, get off of the streets, and get back out in nature doing something productive.
What does it mean to you to carry on that legacy?
That’s really what I aspired for when I started Fishing Friends. My goal was to carry on my father and grandfather’s legacy of being a very talented fisherman and spreading their love of fishing.
I had a friend from elementary school who reached out to me and said my dad was a big reason why he’s not involved in drugs today. Those days when I couldn’t go fishing with my dad, he would reach out to kids in the neighborhood and take them fishing. And those same kids would come back to me more than a decade later saying my dad was a monumental reason as to why they didn't get involved in drugs and gangs and the street life. Understanding that my father had that big of an impact on others in the community, I wanted to do the same and carry on that legacy.
How has fishing as a hobby changed in recent years?
Over the past decade fishing has decreased among youth by over 33%. Those are monumental numbers, and that’s something we’re trying to change. We think that not only is this due to a lack of resources for these youth, but it’s also a lack of someone having the ability to teach them how to fish. At least from what I saw, a lot of kids in the inner city don’t have that father figure or a male mentor in their life to teach them these skills.
It’s truly a different experience to be one with nature.
What’s so great about fishing? Why should people be interested in it?
Teaching a kid how to fish and seeing the joy in their eyes when they catch their first fish brings me back to memories with my dad and my grandfather. It brings me back to chilling in the boat with them, and those moments where I was still learning how to fish and cast. Being out in such a tranquil environment, to be able to sit in peace and see eagles soaring overhead, see turtles under the water right next to you, frogs croaking, see a dragonfly land on your fishing pole. It’s truly a different experience to be one with nature.
What does a typical outing look like?
Usually, we spend the first 15 minutes to half an hour setting up fishing poles, lures, life vests, boats, canoes, oars, and whatever else we need. After that we take the next half hour, just focusing on teaching them the basics, teaching them how to cast, teaching them the techniques of reeling, teaching them how to paddle, teaching them all of the aspects that go into catching a fish. And then we spend the next hour to two hours focused on the actual fishing. So, getting them into those good spots, those nooks and crannies where they’re about to catch the biggest and best fish. We usually spend the last 15 minutes to half an hour reviewing what we've learned, reviewing how the experience was overall and how we can improve it for the next group of kids.
What are your near-term goals?
Our goal for 2024 is to teach over 200 kids about fishing. We’re hoping to hit a million in revenue by the end of 2025, and we’re hoping to hit 10 million in revenue by the end of 2030. Our goal is to continue doubling our efforts of teaching youth about fishing. This year is supposed to be 200, next year’s 400, the year following is 800, and so on and so forth until we've provided every youth across America the opportunity to go fishing.
What do you want the wider community to know about the work you’re doing?
We need donations. We love the work that we do, and we provide amazing opportunities for the youth in our community, opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise receive. But we need donations to continue doing it.
What are some of the successes you’ve seen so far?
At the Springfield Harambee Festival, I was named Springfield’s 2023 Rising Star. I was invited to receive an award, and I got to speak in front of everyone at the festival. It was really meaningful for me and the organization as a whole. There’s also Greek week. A couple of fraternities and sororities chose to fundraise for Fishing Friends. They also made a YouTube video of the fraternity and sorority members talking about what Fishing Friends is, who we are, what we do, and the impact that we make in the community. It was really cool to see a fraternal organization that I have never made contact with reach out to me and ask if they could fundraise for us.
As for the kids themselves, seeing kids make improvements like learning how to cast, catching their first fish, learning how to paddle, and then taking their friends fishing. Having parents send me pictures of their kids fishing on their own, saying they can’t wait to come fishing with us again means so much.
Fishing Friends was founded in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball. Last summer I took a kid fishing, and toward the end of our trip, this kid—he’s probably in high school, and he’s been playing basketball his whole life all day every day, he wants to go to the NBA when he grows up—he turns to me, and he says, “Man, this is better than basketball.” So, I know I'm doing something right.
Visit the Fishing Friends website to learn more about the organization, sign up for a trip, or get involved as a donor or volunteer.
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