RiverStewards – Making a Difference
The Mayfly Project – Harrisburg TMP (Cumberland, Dauphin, and York Counties)
As RiverStewards continues to showcase some of the organizations we have partnered with to help support their ongoing initiatives, the next one organization is The Mayfly Project (TMP), specifically the Harrisburg TMP, which primarily services Cumberland, Dauphin and York counties.
The Mayfly Project is a non-profit organization that was founded by Jess and Laura Westbrook back in 2015 and originally was just in Arkansas. They had the vision of using fly fishing as a tool to support children in foster care. In 2016, TMP evolved into a national program with the help of Kaitlin Barnhart, an Idaho based mental health professional who shared the same passion.
The national program adds five new programs a year nationwide, and Harrisburg was one of them for 2026. This project is led by Greg Rhodes, as well as Todd Bowser who serves as the co-lead. This year’s program runs from May 30th to June 27th, 2026.
Prior to this program, Greg used to lead wilderness trips in the 90’s for at-risk youth. In his retirement he was looking for purpose and happened to find The Mayfly Project in a fly-fishing magazine. From there, he reached out to the founders of the project to find out how to get involved. Originally, he planned on being a mentor with the Scranton project, however the organizers suggested that he start one in Harrisburg.
Last year, Greg served as a mentor in the Scranton program, to see what the project was before beginning it this year. He also has a passion to travel, and anytime he travels somewhere, he tries to see if there is a project in that area so he can connect with mentors there and learn from them.
Greg approaches the program with the mindset that as a mentor, there needs to be flexibility, which means being flexible and meeting the mentees where they are. He views fly fishing as a chance to educate but also provides a space where the mentees are able to try something new.
Including Greg and Todd, the Harrisburg project has 15 mentors. The other mentors in the program include Kerry Lanza, Katie Bartling, Mike Canareli, Daniel Drury, David Bernhardt, Ronal Crandall, Justyn DuSold, John Pokrivka, Clint Wise, Kaleigh Grim, Seth Barton, Jon Noll, and Monica Rhodes.
The organization uses fundraising dollars to fund their exhibit booth swag, which contains hats, T-shirts, stickers, and literature. This booth is set up at a variety of events, such as the Great American Outdoor Show, Cumberland Valley Fly Fishing Festival, Fly Fishing Film Festival, and the PA Outdoor Writers Association. Money that is made from this booth goes back into the organization’s funds to use for this project. They also use fundraising dollars for all the fly-fishing gear that the mentees use during this program.
The program itself is five weeks long; they meet once a week on Saturday for those five consecutive weeks. Each of these sessions are around three hours long, during that time, they have about half an hour for lessons, an hour and a half to fish, as well as lunch and time for the mentees to either ask the mentors questions or do more fishing. During the lesson portion, they go over skills such as casting, safely catching and releasing, tying knots, and more. With each of the skills that they master, they earn a pin which they can attach to their fishing vests.
As part of the program, they also have a curriculum book that they teach, which includes how to read the stream, identifying bugs, casting techniques, entomology, how to be observative, as well as patience. At the end of the program, the mentees take home a new rod, vest, flies, tools they need, as well as a gear and curriculum book.
Currently, the Harrisburg TMP has partnered with several local organizations including the Children’s home of York, Keystone Family Alliance, and Cumberland County Youth Services. They are currently growing and looking forward to partnering with more organizations.
The Harrisburg TMP is supported by a variety of organizations such as TCO Fly Shop, Carlisle Fish and Game, PMI Charitable Foundation, and Nicks 114. Along with these organizations, there have been numerous individuals who have supported the program. For more information regarding The Mayfly Project and the Harrisburg Mayfly Project, visit their website by clicking this link and be sure to check out their social media, which is for the national organization on Instagram and Facebook!
