Charity Spotlight: Hudson River Community Sailing
It’s important for city kids to get outside once in a while, to leave the concrete jungle and internet behind and reconnect with nature and the elements. If they can do all that and still learn the skills they’ll need to succeed in life, so much the better!
That’s why the Heisman Tropy Trust supports the Hudson River Community Sailing program.
Founded in 2007 and operating out of Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood, HRCS partners with public schools to offer credit-bearing academic programs, internships, mentoring, and college readiness. As of 2016, over 150 students from nine public high schools were enrolled.
Its four-year “Sail Academy” helps students earn math and science credit as they learn how to sail, study the marine environment and build boats. Concepts are taught on land and water using small-group and experiential learning.
HRCS also offers the “City Sail” summer camp for ages 10 – 17, where students learn to steer, navigate, control the sails, and calculate speed while sailing on the Hudson River. For those competitive students who already know the basics of saililng, there is “Youth Racing”, which trains high-school-aged racing crews and captains to compete against each other in a youth racing series held in the late spring and early fall. HRCS also offers internships that build and extend the skills learned in the after school program, while providing students with needed structured summer activities and part-time employment.
“I think the great thing about our program is how much interaction there is between the kids and adults,” HRCS executive director Robert Burke said in an interview last summer. “Our club members become volunteers and tutors. A very popular part of our program is the internship where the kids actually work with us to run the sailing school. I think it’s really important that that’s how we run things.
“I’m constantly impressed by our students. They go to school in Manhattan, come from all boroughs, all walks of life, all socioeconomic backgrounds, and they have a perspective and opinions about the world that are really important for older people to hear and understand.”
If you are interested in joining the Heisman Trophy Trust in supporting the Hudson River Community Sailing program, click here.
