From the Helm

Greg Miarecki

President, Chicago Yacht Club Foundation

July 14, 2022

I’m honored to serve as the President of the Chicago Yacht Club Foundation and hope you will enjoy these updates about the impact we are making.  We focus primarily on Chicagoland’s kids, many of whom have never even seen Lake Michigan.  Our initiatives include everything from grants and sponsorships to after-school programs to nautical education programs.

An exciting new initiative this year is our partnership with the Chicago Children’s Museum to develop an interactive play experience called “Boats:  Captain Your Own Adventure.” We expect more than 80,000 kids to learn about the joys and adventures of boating through the exhibit this summer.

We have also partnered with the Club’s Power Fleet and Cruising Sail Fleets to host cruises for kids in our community and are developing new after-school nautical education programs for this fall.    

We’ve partnered with the Jackson Park Yacht Club Foundation on its Open Horizons program, which brings kids from the community to Jackson Park for a learn-to-sail program.  

Our “Lead HER Ship” program will bring eight young women to Lake Michigan for a five-day cruise on a tall ship this month where they’ll learn how to sail, lead, and work together as a team.  And in August, we’ll partner with the Chicago Yacht Club to host a sailing camp for kids from SOS Villages Illinois.

We also are offering kids new opportunities to develop boating and life skills. We have made a significant investment in the Chicago Yacht Club’s Sea Scout Ship Privateer and made grants to deserving underrepresented kids who want advanced sailing school training.  

We also launched a new Maritime Academy focused on training kids to work in the maritime industry. Some of our kids have already secured summer jobs working on commercial vessels on the lakefront. You can read more about this initiative here.

Visit www.chicagoyachtclubfoundation.org to learn more about the Foundation and be sure to follow us on social media. Also, stay tuned for further updates from your Foundation on a regular basis.

Let’s do big things. Together.