From the Helm

July 28, 2023

by Greg Miarecki

I’ve been off the grid for a few months of the Beacon, and I hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know some of my colleagues on the Chicago Yacht Club Foundation Board. Armed with the talents and passion of our new Program Manager, Francesca Sigmond, your Foundation has built an exciting array of community outreach initiatives. During July and August, the Foundation will be running four new sailing camps for youth at the Chicago Yacht Club’s Sailing School – brought to us by Union League Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, BUILD Chicago, Fathers Who Care, and SOS Villages Illinois. In partnership with the Judd Goldman Adaptive Sailing Foundation, we are presenting another camp specifically designed for kids with physical disabilities. And in partnership with the Jackson Park Yacht Club Foundation, we are offering their kids the opportunity to sail aboard the fabulous Whitehawk – owned by our good friends and CYC members Peter and Marijane Thornton.   

Also this month, the Foundation has brought the tall ship Inland Seas to Chicago for nearly three weeks of community outreach activities. Inland Seas is hosting two cohorts of young women participating in our Lead HER Ship program – our signature nautically themed leadership development program. The second cohort is, as you read this, sailing from Chicago to Suttons Bay, Michigan. Last week, your Foundation brought more than 200 youth aboard Inland Seas for half-day STEM cruises – our kids came from seven different partner organizations, including many new Foundation partners. We are grateful for the support of the Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac Committee for its support of the Inland Seas project through its “Mac Gives Back” program, which invites Race to Mackinac skippers, crew members, and fans to sponsor one or more kids for these exciting programs.

But, as they say, “wait, there’s more.” We’ve been honored to partner with the Club’s Cruising Sail Fleet and Power Fleet to present day-long cruises for kids from the PALS organization and the Union League Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago. And we’re looking forward to co-sponsoring similar events with Club fleets later this summer.

Finally, I’d like to offer a special thanks to all of our leadership donors from the prior year. You all made this possible. Please check out our new Foundation wall at Monroe Station, which recognizes the Foundation’s many supporters. As I write this, I look forward to seeing many of you during the Race to Mackinac, and to sharing more exciting news about more Foundation activities next month.

We are just getting ramped up!  Let’s continue doing big things. Together.