If you were on Folly Beach last week, you may have noticed a little more cheering than usual coming from the shoreline.

On Wednesday, August 19, Surfers Healing returned to Folly Beach for one of those days that is hard to fully explain until you experience it for yourself. Children were catching waves, families were cheering from the beach, volunteers were running in every direction, and the entire stretch of sand seemed to be celebrating every ride back to shore.

Our Coastal Island Properties team had the opportunity to volunteer this year, and it gave us an even greater appreciation for the story behind this incredible organization — and the impact it continues to have right here in Charleston.

It All Started With One Father and Son

Surfers Healing began in 1996 with professional surfer Israel “Izzy” Paskowitz and his wife, Danielle.

Surfing was already deeply rooted in Izzy’s life. He grew up in a legendary surfing family — his father, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, was a physician and surfer who famously traveled with his wife and nine children in a camper while chasing waves.

Years later, Izzy and Danielle’s son Isaiah was diagnosed with autism. As Isaiah began experiencing developmental changes and challenges with communication and sensory overload, Izzy did something that came naturally to him: he took his son into the ocean.

Together, they climbed onto a longboard and caught a wave.

Izzy has described the experience as a rare moment of connection between father and son. Isaiah loved the water, the board and the feeling of riding the waves. Seeing how strongly his son responded to the experience made Izzy wonder whether surfing could offer that same kind of joy to other children with autism.

He and Danielle began inviting other families to join them.

Surfers Healing was born.

So, What Exactly Is Surfers Healing?

The concept is beautifully simple: take children with autism surfing.

At Surfers Healing camps, experienced surfers take participants into the ocean on tandem surfboards, helping them experience the waves in a safe and supportive environment.

But the organization is very clear about one thing: surfing isn’t presented as a cure for autism or as traditional therapy.

Instead, the camps are about creating an opportunity to try something new, experience the ocean, build confidence and simply have fun.

For some participants, the rhythm, movement and weightlessness of the water can also provide a welcome change from the sensory overload they may experience in everyday life.

And sometimes the hardest part of the day is getting everyone to come back out of the water.

From One Family to Thousands

What started with Izzy and Isaiah has grown far beyond that first wave.

Today, Surfers Healing hosts free surf camps across the United States and internationally. The organization estimates that its volunteer-supported camps give approximately 6,000 children with autism and their families the opportunity to experience a day at the beach each year.

And one of the most important parts? Families aren’t charged to attend.

Donations, sponsors and volunteers help cover everything from surfboards and life jackets to permits, insurance and the many details required to make each camp happen.

2026 also marks 30 years since Surfers Healing was founded, turning one family’s experience in the ocean into a movement that has reached thousands of families.

One Perfect Day at the Beach

Luckily for Charleston, we don’t have to travel very far to see that mission in action.

Folly Beach has become a regular stop for Surfers Healing, bringing families, experienced surfers, local organizations and volunteers together right here in the Lowcountry.

Charleston is lucky to have plenty of good beach days, but Surfers Healing is a reminder that sometimes the most memorable ones aren’t about perfect weather or perfect waves. They’re about what happens when a community comes together and creates space for someone to experience something they may never have thought possible.

We were incredibly grateful to spend part of this year’s event volunteering alongside the families, surfers and organizations that make Surfers Healing Folly Beach happen.

And after seeing those rides back to shore — and the smiles and cheers that followed them — it’s pretty easy to understand why this event means so much to so many people.

Sometimes one wave really can make a pretty big difference. #OnePerfectDay