2024 Annual Appeal
Help us build leaders on and off the water! Sail Academy students grow from students to interns and peer leaders. Volunteers support students and Adaptive sailors. Alumni bring the skills they learned in Sail Academy to careers and communities beyond HRCS. As 2024 comes to a close, we are highlighting a few profiles of the people and programs that help make up this incredible community.
Please take a moment to learn more and consider making an end-of-year gift to invest in the future.
Meet Sail Academy Alum Dawn Jones
On her first day of Sail Academy, Dawn Jones, then a freshman at the New York City Museum School, felt an instant connection. “It just felt very welcoming, very home-like,” she remembered about her first visit to the Pier 66 Boathouse. But with her on-water experience limited to the Circle Line and a cruise ship, her first day of sailing was a little less comforting. “I was terrified,” she laughed.
That all changed when her crew raised the sails. “I didn't know that something so peaceful can exist in such a busy place,” she reflected. “It kind of flipped a switch in my brain, like, wow, I can actually have these pockets of peace in this busy city.”
If sailing captured her attention, Sail Academy’s STEM-focused curriculum helped chart her course. “Before, it was: ‘math is fine, science is fine.’ but it wasn't [what I was interested in] until I saw math and science used in a practical and fun way.”
With her love of math and science growing, Dawn called HRCS instrumental in her college access journey. She remembers sitting down with Emily Griffin, HRCS’s first college access team member. “When I said I was only applying to like three schools, she was like, ‘No, no, no. You are not leaving until you have applied to at least a couple more…' One of those extra schools is actually the school I went to: Buffalo State.”
After graduating with a bachelor's degree in applied mathematics with a concentration in statistics, Dawn is now a Road to Success Tutor with The New York Foundling, where she helps young people on their paths to college success. She is also active in the HRCS community, serving on the Dark ‘n’ Stormy event committee.
In the summer of 2023 she brought her students and other tutors to the boathouse for a group event. “They had a blast… Still to this day they talk about the sailing event.” Looking back she said, “HRCS helped me with my confidence and finding my passions and that's something that I want to bring to my students.”
Dawn Jones (L) and her sister, Crystal with HRCS Executive Director Robert Burke at Dark 'n' Stormy 2024
Watch: Sail Academy alums share the program's impact
Empowering New Yorkers of All Abilities
HRCS launched Adaptive Sailing in 2021 to give New Yorkers of all abilities access to transformative on-water experiences. Since then, the program has grown, with the help of volunteers, partners, and supporters like you. This spotlight is on one of our volunteers who helps make the program a success!
The James J. Peters VA Medical Center in the Bronx was one of our first adaptive partners. HRCS has worked with the VA since 2011 through an annual clinic, Heroes on the Hudson and through Soldiers Under Sail, a program for Veterans.
Rachel Szymanski, an occupational therapist (OT) at the Bronx VA, works with Veterans living with a range of spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D), as well as MS and ALS. As a Washington Heights resident, Rachel knew about HRCS and jumped to get involved, signing up for a member orientation.
Working with fellow therapists, Rachel, Don Rotzien (Senior Director of Community Programs & Operations) and HRCS staff developed systems, training, and boat adaptations. As the program grew, so did Rachel’s own sailing experience. She went out on weekends, building skills and connecting them back to her work with the VA. “It was interesting learning all the terminology and having that firsthand experience I could relate to my patients to be able to maximize their experience,” she says.
Greg, a Vietnam veteran with ALS, sailed with HRCS this season: “I try to live in the moment,” he told WPIX’s Mr. G. during a segment about Adaptive sailing at HRCS. “Getting out and doing something like this, it’s nice for me and it changes my outlook.”
Rachel Szymanski working with an Adaptive sailor
Watch: Adaptive Sailing is increasing access for New Yorkers living with disabilities
Junior Educators: From Students to Teachers
Rising juniors in Sail Academy, HRCS’s youth development program, have the opportunity to work as Junior Educators (JEs) alongside instructors in City Sail summer camp. Director of STEM Education Andy Temme oversees the JE program and calls it a “pivotal” personal development moment. “They grow from being students to being the instructor and taking on all of the roles and responsibilities that come with that.”
JE’s teach lessons on and off the water, building confidence and growing leadership skills. Esme, a student at High School of Fashion Industries, appreciates how finding ways to teach younger kids helped her become a better sailor, “You have to describe it to them correctly because they might not understand if you tell them to tighten the boom vang,” she explains. “Being able to put it into simpler terms, helped me just understand sailing in a more easy way.”
Our instructional staff includes a number of former JEs, who say the program was instrumental in building both their sailing and real world skills for college and beyond. Former JE Adriana is a senior at Binghamton University and a seasonal sailing instructor. “[JE] was the first job I ever really had,” she remembers. “Being able to start off and see what it means to show up every day and have something that you're responsible for and be able to put your all into it. It really taught me what it means to work and to be a positive influence and be a good team member.”
Tsubaki instructing a City Sail camper
Watch: Junior Educators lead the way in City Sail
Thank you for investing in Hudson River Community Sailing's future. Your support helps power the growth of our programs and community.
