An opportunity to give back
Proceeds from this year’s event will benefit the fundraising drive for local skater Jack Koos’s mom, Carolyne Koos.

Carolyne currently suffers from several debilitating health conditions including Dysautonomia, Sjogren ’s syndrome and systemic Lupus. Carolyne is in desperate need of treatment at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota, and all funds raised from this year’s Daytime Radness events will be contributed towards getting Carolyne the treatment that she needs in order to continue to give back to both her family and our local community.
Carolyne and her husband Ben tragically lost their two-and-a-half year old son, Christian, to Leukodystrophy in 2005. After Christian’s death, the couple founded the Embrace Life Children’s Foundation (embracelifechildrensfoundation.com), which reaches out to children with chronic and terminal illnesses. Despite her own serious health issues, Carolyne –along with a group of committed volunteers – provides visits, parties, field trips, and – most importantly – love to sick kids at Miami Children’s Hospital, Chris Evert Children’s Hospital and Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital.

Helping the helpers
In addition to the work Ben and Carolyne Koos do for local children through their foundation, Ben serves our community as a deputy with the Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO). In an effort to support both his son Jack’s love for skateboarding as well as another local resident in need, Ben arranged for BSO officers to volunteer their time for both last year’s and this year’s Daytime Radness events, saving thousands of dollars in costs and allowing more of the funds raised through IWS’s events to go directly to worthy local causes.

The $12,000 raised from last year’s Daytime Radness event went to support local surfer Brooke Thabit. Then 17-year-old Brooke broke her neck in a diving accident in 2012, becoming paralyzed from the waist down, and was in dire needs of funds for medical treatment and intensive rehabilitation.

Great fun for a great cause
The “Road to Radness” series of preliminary skate contests is happening right now, with contests taking place at Grand Central in North Miami on August 31, Mancave in Palm Beach on September 27, and Ramp48 in Fort Lauderdale on October 11.For more information on becoming a participant in or a spectator of these events, visit daytimeradness.com.

IWS hopes to see a record crowd at this year’s main Daytime Radness event being held on October 18 in Deerfield Beach. In addition to the skate competition finals, featuring the best local skaters in South Florida, IWS will be offering huge sales in the store, a raffle, a silent auction, and a whole host of fun, games, and activities for the entire family. Big name surf and skate vendors including Quiksilver, Roxy and Volcom will be on hand to show their support and showcase the latest in surfboards, clothing and accessories.

100 percent of the money raised from the raffle and silent auction, as well as 100 percent of the registration fees from the skate contest series will go directly to the Koos family. IWS will also be donating a percentage of all sales made in the store on the day of the Daytime Radness event.

For more information on the event, or to make an individual donation to the Koos Family, visit islandwatersports.com or daytimeradness.com.