Paddling for Hope: Derek Park Fundraises for Breast Cancer Education and Early Detection

By Karen Rose

The “Prince of Preachers,” Charles Haddon Surgeon said that hope itself is like a star—not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, but to be discovered in the night of adversity. Nine years ago, paddler Derek Park made it his goal to share hope and optimism with cancer survivors, all while raising money for Hawai‘i Island patients battling this disease. Today, his organization, Paddling for Hope Foundation, offers breast cancer education and early detection to benefit the residents of Hawai‘i Island.

“Nearly 10 years ago, I did a paddling race, and my team and I wanted to donate some money to the American Cancer Society,” said Derek. “It became evident that the money raised here all went to O‘ahu, then they would distribute it out per the population and the needs. We had to get special permission from American Cancer Society to keep the money here. At that time, I felt that if we raised all the money here, the money should stay here as well. So, six years ago, I founded Paddling for Hope.”

Raising Money, Cancer Education, and Early Detection

An avid paddler, Derek races every year in the M2M (Maui to Moloka‘i) channel race, as well as the Pa‘a Kaiwi Solo race from Moloka‘i to O‘ahu. During these races, he raises money by racing with “honor name” stickers on his canoe, in memory of cancer survivors. Because his mother is a 35-plus year survivor of breast cancer, Derek chose to raise money specifically for that purpose.

“After watching my mom go through all she did, it was important to me that the money raised go to breast cancer [education],” he said. “It’s something that is close to my heart.”

When he decided to research how he could help, Derek met with his friend, Dr. Jan Levitan, from Hāmākua Health Care Center. The doctor explained the islandʻs biggest needs.

“I learned from Jan that if we educate people and increase early detection, treatment is significantly more successful,” Derek explained. “The technology and understanding of how to do biopsies and lumpectomies has improved so much, that fighting cancer in its early stages is a lot more successful than waiting for it to spread into your lymph nodes where it’s more difficult to eradicate. In cancer’s later stages, patients must go through more invasive treatments that can be destructive to the immune system.”

According to the University of Hawai‘i Cancer Center’s Hawai‘i Tumor Registry, more than 1,000 women are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer in Hawai‘i each year. Another 300 are diagnosed with early stage tumors that have not yet invaded surrounding tissues in the body. According to the same registry, breast cancer takes the lives of more than 100 women each year in Hawai‘i.

Honor Names and Paddling for a Cause

Derek is currently organizing Paddling for Hope’s next fundraiser, which he likens to Susan G. Komen’s Race for the Cure, the 5K runs organized throughout the United States. He decided to do something similar to the names the race participants wear on their backs in honor, or in memory of, a cancer survivor, except he is doing it by adding names to his one-man canoe.

“I liked the idea of people wearing the names on their backs because it gives the event more meaning and adds personal purpose,” said Derek. “So, I did something similar, but I call it Honor Names. Anyone can pay $10, and that $10 buys you a name on my canoe. I add the names all over the canoe, and then paddle across the Pailolo Channel in the M2M Race. I also do a solo crossing of the Kaiwi Channel on this canoe.”

The Pailolo channel race is from Mauiʻs Fleming Beach Park to Kaunakakai, Moloka‘i. This is a 26-mile open ocean race for serious paddlers that boasts some of the best downwind surfing conditions in the world.

So far this year, Derek has 286 names on his canoe. Every year he strips off all the previous names and adds an entirely new batch to his canoe. In 2019, the nonprofit organization raised and donated $6,000 to Hawai‘i Island nonprofits.

“This year, the money got shared among Kona Community Hospital’s Cancer Support Center, Hilo Medical Center’s Cancer Support Center, and Hui Mālama’s cancer support group,” said Derek. “I went to Honua Kai’s Cancer Support Center, as well, and donated $3,000, $2,000 of which stays in Honua Kai, and $1,000 of it is given to their satellite office in North Kohala.”

Next year Derek plans to incorporate support groups in the Nā‘ālehu and South Point areas, to distribute donations for early detection and education.

His goal is to distribute the funding in an equitable way that doesn’t leave out the smaller satellite communities. Paddling for Hope is the only private nonprofit in the state of Hawai‘i that is focused on early detection and education for breast cancer, and for that, he is very proud.

“It’s an honor to be the only private nonprofit doing what we are doing,” said Derek. “When somebody donates $10, 100 percent of that is donated; nothing gets held back for administrative purposes. Nothing gets held back to make the sticker, either. If there are any expenses accrued, I will either pay for them personally or it comes out of the sponsorship donations that corporate companies donate to cover the expense of my races. There is also a Paddling for Hope clothing line, and 100 percent of the profits from the sales of those items gets donated as well.”

Offering Water Adventures to Cancer Survivors

In addition to his racing canoe, Derek also has a special canoe he uses for community events, and to provide cancer survivors and supporters a healing, positive paddling experience. Last year, he partnered with Hui Mālama Ola Nā ‘Ōiwi for two cancer support events, and took cancer survivors out on the water free of charge.

“I have a three-man canoe that I rig up, and itʻs also a sailing canoe,” he explained. “Iʻll set up trampolines on each side, then do paddle-out events. I teamed up with Hui Mālama and Kona Community Hospital to take patients out in the canoe to Kahuli Bay. It’s a lot of fun for everyone and allows me to share with others why I love paddling so much. We’ve also done paddle-outs in Hilo Bay, Reed’s Bay and Keauhou Bay.”

Derek’s goal for the foundation is to purchase two four-person canoes, rigged as an eight-man double hull. With this extra room, he hopes to organize many more events. Today, Derek makes himself available for visitors and residents who call him, requesting to participate.

“Yesterday I received a call from a community member about a couple who was visiting the island,” he said. “The wife had beat breast cancer and they requested to go out on the canoe. I love to make those kinds of things happen.”

As the charity grows, Derek is ever more grateful for the symbiotic relationship between the foundation and the community. It’s important to him that the money and support received by members of the community is well spent, with all of the proceeds going directly to assist breast cancer education and early detection.

“I love that the charity is growing,” said Derek. “I want it to grow at a medium pace. I donʻt want to push it too hard and fast. It’s great when people find out about the charity and have questions. If people want to support it, the best way is to purchase an honor name for my canoe. It’s a really cool thing when you see the one-man canoe full of names. It’s a heartwarming tribute to honor anyone who has ever dealt with cancer.”

Honor a Loved One

Derek knows where every person’s name is on his canoe. He often gets stopped in parking lots with his canoe on top of his truck to get questioned about the stickers. “People will approach me and ask about the names,” he explained. “For example, I had someone visiting from North Dakota who pulled out $20 and asked me to put his mom and brother’s name on the canoe, as well. Afterward, I’ll take photos of it and send it to their family. For those on island, I’ll bring the canoe to them so they can see their loved one’s name they had put on the canoe.”

Anyone can honor a loved one who has battled or survived cancer by contacting Derek for more informartion on submissions. For $10, a sticker with the name of the person being honored will be placed on Derekʻs canoe prior to him racing across the two channels. Every October, Derek donates 100 percent of the profits back to the Hawai‘i Islandʻs cancer education programs. ❖

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For more information: Facebook.com/PaddlingForHope, Instagram@PaddlingForHope