Professional surfers, fighters bring encouragement to children’s hospital

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — A bus full of professional surfers and fighters is making a special stop in the cape fear this week.

They started in California and they have been stopping at children’s hospitals all along the way. New Hanover Regional Medical Center is their 15th stop.

The mission of the Mauli Ola foundation is to use surfing as a natural therapy for genetic disorders, but director Hans Hagan said it has grown into much more than that. In between taking kids into the waves, Hans said they try to bring the spirit of the ocean to the kids who cannot quite make it to the beach.

“Just to hang out with them and pass the time in a good way and it kinds of works both ways,” Hans said. “We give them some encouragement and they also give it to us as well. It makes us feel so much better about what we do.”

The group will be in Wrightsville Beach Thursday morning at 9:00 at N. Lumina and Oceanic St. to take kids surfing. You can still register for the event. Click here to register and to read more about the Mauli Ola Foundation.