St. Cloud students are going the extra stroke by teaching visually impaired veterans how to kayak through their “Outtasight Clinic.”

  • Students teach blind vets to kayak though 'Outtasight Clinic'
  • Teaching vets basic training on the water
  • Want to help the students? Visit bylandorlake.org

This clinic is meant to help vets heal through nature.

If you watch Josiah Jackson paddling in the water, you probably can’t tell that he’s never kayaked before and that he’s also blind.

Jackson served in the Army back in the 90s, but a few years ago he started suffering from a neurological condition that affected his vision.

“I need to start living life again,” he said.

He is one of six visually impaired veterans from across the country participating in a kayaking clinic out of St. Cloud. These vets are receiving basic training on the water, like rescue efforts and how to roll over.

“To trust us for people who have never paddled before, to get their butts on a boat and then to trust us to flip them out of the boat is just incredible,” said Dana Larcenaire, the Assistant Program Coordinator for Team River Runner.

Team River Runner is a national organization that helps wounded veterans heal through nature.

Team River Runner is partnering with By Land or Lake, a St. Cloud non-profit run by business students out of St. Cloud High School to make this clinic possible. The students involved with By Land or Lake are serving as instructors for the veterans while out on the water.

Year-round these students rent out kayaks and paddle boards, and with the money made they provide scholarships for Osceola students. But this year they find themselves paddling a little harder.

“I feel like the fact that they have a disability has allowed them to see a different part of life,” said Zachary Ellis a senior at St. Cloud High. “And they’re just letting us know to appreciate that.”

Zachary along with his twin brother Jordan are one of the many business students partaking in this clinic.

Jackson said he is grateful that these students came up with a way for him to feel alive again.

“I didn’t realize how much I had really stepped back out of life, and I wasn’t living life,” he added. “From a mental health perspective, I am doing very significantly better.”

The St. Cloud students running By Land or Lake hope to one day have a permanent building to operate out of at Chisholm Park. For more information on how you can help them achieve that, visit bylandorlake.org

For more information on Team River Runner, visit its website: www.teamriverrunner.org