Voit Real Estate Services and Alkaline Advisors hosted the “Surf for Impact” event held Friday in San Diego to raise funds for the Challenge Athletes Foundation (CAF). The Challenged Athletes Foundation Surfing Program aims to support adaptive surfers by providing equipment and mentoring.

CAF has been in existence for 30 years and’s mission is to provide athletes with physical disabilities with the opportunity to lead an active lifestyle through competitive sports and fitness.

According to Fox 5 San Diegothe event saw nearly 50 surfers. One participating surfer, Sarah Bettencourt, told the news source: “This fire, this passion reignites in me and I can adapt the way I do this activity, I can adapt the equipment and, most importantly, I can adapt my mindset to accept who I am now, accept help, and accomplish everything I want to do by just changing these few things.”

Bettencourt, now retired, was serving in the United States Marine Corps when she received a life-changing diagnosis that ended her military career. The neurological disorder she struggled with often led to a decline in motor skills. As a surfer, this was terrible news for Bettencourt. However, while working with the Challenged Athletes Foundation, she felt supported and was able to continue her adventures.

Surf for Impact co-founder Brian Fischer said, “San Diego is full of a close-knit surfing community and we found that it might be the only city we could succeed in and I think trying to make a difference when it comes to philanthropic events in commercial real estate, bring everyone together around a passion they love and share the money raised to help other people find that passion .

The “Surf for Impact” event was considered a success and raised nearly $40,000 for the Challenged Athletes Foundation.