About Us

Turning Interest Into Action

Lucas Metropulos founded the concept of Fishing for Families in Need (F4FN) in fall of 2007 at the age of 15 years old, and started the first class in the Fall of 2008 with six children from the Florence Fuller Child Developmental Center in Boca Raton, FL. Since then, the program has taught thousands of children to be ethical anglers and good stewards of the sea through hands on and virtual classes with the help of hundreds of volunteers in the United States and the Caribbean. In addition, the organization has provided thousands of meals of fresh fish to local soup kitchens through its innovative fish waste reduction program.

The organization has been the recipient of multiple national and local awards such as placing 1st in the Education and Literacy Category of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service in 2013 and receiving the prestigious USA Weekend Magazine National Make a Difference Day Award in 2010. Since Lucas’s first class many others have come forward to teach their own programs in new locations as well as carrying the torch in the founding city of Boca Raton, FL.

The organization was officially renamed "Marine Education Initiative" in 2019 to lead new efforts by engaging millennials and young people in exciting opportunities to further their knowledge and experience in protecting marine ecosystems.