Casting a Line for Youth Mental Health

Meet Daily Point of Light Award honoree Vick Tan. Read his story, and nominate an outstanding volunteer or family as a Daily Point of Light. 

Vick Tan’s passion for promoting mental health through fishing shines in his role with Fish Hut, a nonprofit dedicated to helping youth, one fish at a time. Over the past year, Fish Hut has engaged more than 20,000 children, raised over $19,000 and partnered with 35 corporate sponsors. Vick plays a crucial role in organizing large-scale events, including the upcoming Fishing Festivals in New York and Minnesota, creating opportunities for kids in underserved communities to experience the joy of fishing. 

Recently, Fish Hut’s community events at Mamaroneck Marine Education and Van Cortlandt Park, Bronx, brought together over 200 participants, including guest speakers like Senator Mayer and Council Member Dinowitz. Beyond fishing, Vick helps lead the Fish Hut Builder Program, an initiative where young students design personalized fishing huts. This program has become a beloved activity in local schools, fostering creativity and community engagement. 

Vick’s efforts extend far beyond events. He dedicates approximately 76 hours each month to Fish Hut’s operations, contacting sponsors, securing partnerships and ensuring smooth event execution. His dedication has helped Fish Hut provide thousands of kids with fishing gear, mentorship and opportunities to connect with nature. 

Under Vick’s leadership, Fish Hut is proving that fishing is more than just a pastime – it’s a therapeutic tool for improving mental health, growing confidence and building community. Read on to hear more of Vick’s story of tireless commitment to inspiring young people to cast their lines toward brighter futures.  

Tell us about your volunteer role. 

Fish Hut was founded almost two years ago now, with the goal to allow every single youth to go fishing, no matter the cost. That’s what we’ve based the organization on, and then we’ve built on that mission. We host three types of key events. The first is fishing contests – sometimes online, sometimes in person. Participants can join, for fun, and win amazing prizes like boat rentals and ice fishing suits. The second type of event we host are fishing lessons. In these events, kids will gather together in places like Central Park in New York City. We have 50 to 100 kids and tons of volunteers who teach the kids how to fish. 

The third and final way is through our fishing festivals. These are online festivals where youth can take photos of fish they’ve caught and submit them to our website, then redeem a prize. Recently, we partnered with Nothing Bundt Cakes, so once kids submit a photo of a fish they’ve caught, they can show it to a team member at Nothing Bundt Cakes and get a free item. 

As for me, my work within the organization is to be at every single event, organize volunteers, organize sponsorships and co-run the website with my brother, William. We really work to make Fish Hut the best it can be. We’re always expanding, while ensuring that our quality remains. There’s no point in hosting more events if the quality of the events starts to slip, or if we’re not fully sure that a kid is taking away something from the event. We want every event to be of value and ensure that kids are truly taking something away – whether it be a piece of new knowledge about fishing or a rod they’re able to use to fish on their own. 

What inspired you to get started with this cause? 

Nobody else in my family besides me and my brother goes fishing. When I was 4 or 5 years old, I saw a couple people fishing on a bridge over the Hudson River. It seemed really cool, and I wanted to try it. The first fishing rod I got didn’t even have a hook, but casting it gave me so much joy, even at that young age. Fishing transitioned into something that was not only a hobby, but a great way to de-stress. And that’s the whole point of Fish Hut. 

Fish Hut was started to help youth develop better mental health habits. Fishing has been proven to help promote better mental health in youth. There have been many studies conducted on the mental health benefits of fishing, by the National Institute of Mental Health and by the Harvard Research Center. I’ve been able to see how much mental health issues have grown, not only in my community but also across the entire United States. And I wanted to help with that, through sharing fishing.  

Youth are only going to go to an activity they like participating in. I haven’t met a single youth who wasn’t intrigued by fishing, by catching their first fish, by seeing what’s under the water. Youth love going fishing! It’s all catch-and-release for Fish Hut. It’s a great way to de-stress and alleviate some of their anxiety. 

At the start, as a new nonprofit, it was pretty difficult to get permission. But once you’ve shown the true impact you can have, I think that really shines through. We’ve got a lot more expanding to do, but the support has been incredible. Before each event, we get permission from the park to host each event.  

Recently, we’ve been talking to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation about putting fish huts in parks. Fish huts allow youth to fish whenever they want. You place a box in a school, a library, a park or somewhere similar. The box includes bait, tackle, everything they need. It’s based on an honor system, with kids using the materials and putting them back the way they found them, for the next person to use. We’ve found fish huts to be very successful and the kids love them. … getting permission is one of the key roles… 

What have you learned through your experiences as a volunteer? 

I think one of the biggest things I’ve learned is patience. I’d say I’m a very patient person, but you need to be really patient when you’re working with younger kids. At each event, we bring out 30 or 40 rods, and at least 15 to 20 of them get tangled. It’s super important to have the patience to untangle those rods, one by one, or to touch the bait when little kids don’t want to. Patience is just something that’s required.  

One other thing I’ve learned is to go into every situation with a game plan. When I’m calling parks or potential partners or sponsors, it’s so important to go into each situation with a goal, or something we want to accomplish. Being prepared is crucial. 

What are your long-term plans or goals for the organization? 

We want to ensure that all kids take away something from our events, so we actually don’t want to expand as fast as possible, at the expense of quality. Over the next one or two years, we’d like to expand Fish Hut to over 10 states, aiming to influence over 100,000 people in 2025. We want to expand, we want to keep our quality high and we want to ensure that each kid can take something away from each event.  

In a couple of months, we’ll have our largest ever free ice fishing event in Minnesota. We have tents, giant ice houses, all the materials kids could need to fish, hot coffee, hot chocolate and more. It’s an incredible event that really brings the community together and we’d like to grow that event year over year. 

What’s been the most rewarding part of your work? 

The most rewarding part is seeing kids being able to learn how to fish for the first time and use the fish huts we’ve placed out. One day, I was sitting down at a bench in front of one of our fish huts just to see whether anyone would use it. A kid came up, took out the rod and put on the bait, and went fishing all by himself. That wouldn’t have happened without the fish hut placement. It’s really been my inspiration.  

Another aspect is during the events. It’s really incredible to see that not only are we helping youth but helping families in general. Parents come with kids sometimes. Sometimes one is teaching another. I love to see families working together, showing each other how to cast a rod, grabbing the fish for each other. At every single event, it’s fulfilling. The feeling never gets old.  

Why is it important for others to get involved with causes they care about? 

I want to begin by saying that for Fish Hut, without volunteers, none of the work we do would be possible. I think it’s the same for every single nonprofit around the world. Volunteers really are the backbone of any organization. As much as I can do for Fish Hut, I can’t singlehandedly run an event with 50, 60, 70 kids by myself. It can’t just be a one-man show, or a two-man show with me and my brother. Volunteers are critical to our events.  

Volunteering is such an important thing to do, in general. It’s so encouraging to see the impact that you, as one person, can have. Many, if not all, nonprofits thrive on volunteers, and it’s so rewarding for the volunteers themselves. 

Any advice for people who want to start volunteering? 

Most organizations, like Fish Hut, don’t require a ton of skills in order to be able to volunteer. If you show up and you’re enthusiastic, we’re happy to have you! Many nonprofits have been struggling with not having enough volunteers recently. Whatever you’re able to do – even if you can only come out for 10 or 15 minutes at an event – we’d appreciate it. Every nonprofit would appreciate it. 

There are also remote opportunities. We host webinars with mental health experts. So if people can’t show up to in-person events, they can donate time by coming on to talk about their own experiences. You don’t need to have that much time – just a positive attitude and growth mindset – and you can volunteer. 

What do you want people to learn from your story? 

Look after those you care for personally, as well as those you don’t know. Seeing the impact that mental health can have in your own family or community – not just through fishing, but another sport, or reading or just talking to them. Every day, if you can give three compliments to three people, it’s a successful day. Going into 2025, being kind to other people and showing them that they matter, and that you care, is so important.  

Do you want to make a difference in your community like Vick? Find local volunteer opportunities.