Over the past week, you’ve likely seen a wave of posts using #AllForAldrich auctioning off everything from guided trips to dozens of flies, all in the name of helping out a beloved commercial fly tyer, Justin Aldrich. Justin has become a popular fly tyer and has the honor of calling it his full-time job, but after his wife lost her job due to the pandemic, and recent long-term hospitalization, Justin and the Aldrich family need the fly fishing community’s help.
You can help make an impact in two ways:
1) Donate directly to the Aldrich GoFundMe.
2) Participate in one of the many auctions going on where the proceeds of each will be donated to said GoFundMe. You can find those by searching #AllForAldrich on Instagram.
A few examples of items currently up for auction:
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
View this post on Instagram
This is the latest in a series of grassroots fundraising efforts the fly fishing community has launched. In 2019, #DozenForDorian raised thousands for the Bahamas, in early 2020, #DozenForDownUnder took off in response to the Australian bush fires, and right at the outbreak of COVID-19 just 12 short months ago, another popped up to help support guides through the first few uncertain months of the pandemic. Seeing these organic campaigns having such success is just a sign of how special the bonds between fly anglers around the world are.