From the Helm

March 31, 2023

by Greg Miarecki

Spring is here, and while it might be too cold to get on the water quite yet, things are very busy at your Chicago Yacht Club Foundation. 

This winter, we’ve spent a lot of time meeting with prospective partners from Lawndale to Austin to Pilsen about expanding the reach of Foundation programs in 2023 and beyond. 

And we also had a chance to meet up with some of our supporters in Florida. Check out the feature in this Beacon to learn more about our Foundation in Florida event, which will become a regular winter feature.

I am pleased to announce that we have dramatically expanded our signature Lead HER Ship program in 2023. This year, we will be doubling the number of Lead HER Ship week-long cruises – with two cohorts of young women participating this year. 

This July, the tall ship hosting the cohorts will be in Chicago for a week, and we’ll be using that time to take Chicagoland youth on half-day cruises focused on STEM education. You will have a chance to see the ship at the Club in a few months!

Our Maritime Academy is off and running.  Our first set of youth has already been trained to work as deckhands, and we have 21 youth set to go through another edition of the program next week! 

Our annual job fair is scheduled for mid-April, and we have several employers already signed up to meet the youth.  We have also moved to expand the Academy’s reach to swimming education, in a new partnership with the Union League Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago.

And expect to see the members of Sea Scout Ship Privateer often in 2023. These extraordinarily talented young men and women are hard at work planning a full slate of activities for 2023.  Your Foundation has substantially increased the Scouts’ budget for the season. Stay tuned for exciting news about the Scouts in the coming weeks!

We have more exciting projects on the drawing board.  Look for more news in future Beacons. We look forward to doing some big things this year and beyond. 

Together!