Paddlers Against Poverty

Paddlers Against Poverty is a "crew" of people brought together by a common love of being on the water. We meet together to get out and paddle, create caring community, work together to care for the vulnerable around us, and experience the world around us.

Our motto is "No One Paddles Alone".

We meet at 2:30pm on the 1st and 3rd Sundays of each month (including during winter) at various locations around greater Hobart.

Each paddle lasts for about an hour (give or take - depending on time, location, and how everyone is feeling), and is often followed by some afternoon tea at a nearby cafe for those who have the time.

Anyone with a paddle craft is welcome to join us, we have had almost every kind of paddle craft out on the water; from basic recreational kayaks, through to stand up paddleboards, canoes, surf skis, and open water sea kayaks. Everyone is welcome to paddle with us!

If you haven't got a paddle craft, and want to join us, we have a very limited supply of spare craft that we can organise for you. Please contact us a few days in advance to organise a craft and equipment by either reaching out through Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PaddlersAgainstPoverty) email (paddlersagainstpoverty@salvationarmy.org.au) or calling our group leader Joel (0417 190 413)

We paddle on the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month (including during winter) as the weather and conditions allow.

All of our paddle events begin at 2:30pm, and paddling goes for about an hour (approximately).

We ask that those paddling with us fill out a registration form so we have some contact details etc. Fill out the form here: https://tsa_au.chmeetings.com/forms/FA456D4FE5B08F42

The format of our time together usually looks like this (times are approximate only):

2:30pm - Meet up and unload, get ready to go (if you can arrive early, that's always good to give a bit of extra time to get sorted)
2:40 - Safety briefing and check-in among paddlers
2:45 - Paddle begins
3:45 - Paddle Concludes
3:50 - Pack up gear/paddle craft
4:00 - Head to nearby cafe for afternoon tea

If the weather isn't suitable for paddling, we still meet, usually at a cafe/bakery.

All of our paddles are "no drop" which means you can go at your pace, go as far or as fast as you are comfortable going, and if you want to head back, you won't have to do it alone.

We are open to all types of paddle craft. We have recreational kaykas, stand up paddle boards, sea kayaks, surf skis, canoes, and various inflatable kayaks and boards join us for our paddles. 

We do ask that anyone paddling with us adheres to the requirements of Marine and Safety Tasmania (MAST) and has a life jacket (50nm as minimum) and any other kind of safety equipement relevant to their craft as mandated by MAST (i.e. leg leash for SUP).

You can get in touch with us via: 

Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PaddlersAgainstPoverty)

Email (paddlersagainstpoverty@salvationarmy.org.au)

Phone, calling our group leader Joel (0417 190 413)

At Paddlers Against Poverty, our motto is: “No One Paddles Alone”.

At it’s most simple expression, our motto means that when we head out for a paddle together, no one will be left behind, no one will be left without someone to talk to and enjoy the paddle experience with, and everyone will be helped as and when they need it – not just while out on the water, but during unloading, setting up, packing up and loading up again.

However, “No One Paddles Alone” means much more than just having someone alongside you while you’re on the water.

When Paddlers Against Poverty says “No One Paddles Alone” we also mean that if you’re connected to our crew, you don’t have to do life alone any more either. Paddlers Against Poverty is more than just a paddle group – we are a community of people who have similar and shared passions and interests, and we are there for each other not just on the water, but off of it too.

Paddlers Against Poverty is intended to give people a place of connection and support; a place to know others and be known by them. We are a place where people have a shared sense of belonging and connection and where the group looks after the welfare of all of its members. “No One Paddles Alone” means that whatever you are going through in life, whether that be the moments of joy and celebration or the moments of grief and stress, you have people to share those moments with, to make the good times greater and to make the hard times easier.

“No One Paddles Alone” means that we work together to build up our community, to make the people, spaces, and places around us healthier, stronger, and more resilient.

We “paddle” and work together to make a difference in the lives of others. Sometimes this is expressed as a fundraising effort during our Paddle Against Poverty 10k Charity Event, shared participation with our partner team at Clarence City Salvos for the Red Shield Appeal, packing Grab and Go School Lunch packs for teenagers doing it tough once each school term, or maybe something else.

Everyone connected to Paddlers Against Poverty is encouraged to find that area of life that they feel passionate about, and to go out and start making a difference in that space. Wherever we can Paddlers Against Poverty will encourage, support, and assist people to do something good and life-changing for someone else.

We do not require that anyone have a faith to paddle with us, but a number of our crew identify as believers in Jesus and find paddling a great way to connect with the transcendant, but for others, we understand that this is not their thing.

For those of us with a faith, “No One Paddles Alone” means that we each are connected to the omnipresent God, the One who was, and is, and is to come.

Some of those who paddle with us believe that we find connection to God through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and by the strength and power of the Holy Spirit at work within us, we are linked in and connected to our God who loves us, cares about us, and has a design and a plan for our lives that will lead us to find the most healthy and fulfilling expression of who we are and who we have been created to be.

When we are out paddling we find ourselves reminded of the words of the psalmist who wrote “Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence” and then listed places as vastly separated as high above the ground, deep below it, way out to the east, such that it is beyond the dawn, or across the vastness of the ocean to the west where the sun has not yet reached, and reflect on the many and varied places places that God can find us, connect with us, and work through us.

As we paddle, we may also remember of the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Christians in Rome that tell us that nothing can separate us from the love of God – nothing in all creation, whether big or small, powerful or insignificant can remove us from a place where God’s love for us is not expressed towards us, through Jesus.

As paddlers, we have one of the greatest avenues available to marvel and wonder at the presence of God as we paddle. As we look around us and see the wonderful world that God has created and brought into being; we see and observe the animals, and birds, and fish, around us; we share with each other in the understanding that we are all equally created in the image of God and are all equally loved by Him, we sense and experience the presence of God who is always there.

We believe that “No One Paddles Alone” because God is always with them; through bad times and good, through joy and pain, through success and failure, whether we can sense and perceive it or otherwise.