RHYCSS 2009 Summary and Donation Request
Connie Ranney, RHYCSS
December 10, 2009
Dear RHYC Sailing School family and friends,
The fall of 2009 marked a milestone for our Sailing School! It’s hard to believe but several of the participants from our very first Lean-to-Sail class entered college and we completed our 8th summer of sailing lessons!
In the eight years we’ve offered the program, nearly 500 children and 40 adults have learned how be safe and have fun around the water in addition to learning to sail! We are blessed to have an incredible facility to rent and a group of enthusiastic volunteers and staff that help make those first sailing experiences the beginning of a wonderful lifelong experience.
Since raising that first main on an Opti, we’ve been fortunate to be the grateful recipient of many parts and pieces that help make up our fleet today. With lots of elbow grease, determination and the generosity of many, we’ve expanded that initial fleet so that today, it includes 12 Optis, four Lasers, six C420s, a Big Fish, two Sunfish and four Motor Boats. In addition to summer weekday sessions for children, we have also embraced adult education (such as sailing For Women Only and sailing For Men Only), and offer recreational sailing for all Club members.
In taking inventory of our equipment before storing it for the winter, it was hard not to notice that our fleet has become “tired” and is in need of a significant revitalization. Just because we’re Rock Hall does not mean our kids have to sail “beater boats.” I’m writing to ask for your help as better boats will definitely make us more competitive.
A very generous couple, whose child is a very enthusiastic student of the Sailing School, tapped into the Matching Gifts program of their employer and arranged for an incredible $10,000 donation to help with the renewal and upgrading of the School’s boats! However, these funds are just a portion of what we really need to keep attracting a crop of young sailors and provide a rewarding and competitive experience each year. The balance of what we need must be raised through cash donations and funds we receive from the sale of donated boats.
To maximize the effect of this very generous donation, we are launching a Matching Gifts program of our own. For every dollar we raise, we can count on a dollar from the $10,000 matching gift until we reach our objective of upgrading our fleet.
We realize our objective might take a while to complete. But in terms of the benefits to the people who will successfully learn to sail as a result, and the image of Rock Hall Yacht Club, it’s well worth the effort! So I’m writing to ask you to please help us this holiday season (or later) by making a gift to help the children fulfill their dreams of successfully competing against the best junior sailors on the Bay.
Donations to “your” Sailing School are deductible for income tax purposes, as we are a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit charitable organization.
We have a great program and it can only get better with your help. If you would like to further discuss our needs and objectives, please call me at (410) 778-4560 or Connie Ranney, RHYC Sailing School Vice-President, at (610) 247-1645 or (410) 639-7576.
Thanks very much and Happy Holidays!
Chuck Parry,
Director RHYC Sailing School
RHYCSS
PO Box 441
Chestertown, MD 21620
Sailing School Equipment Needs:
2 Pre-owned Lasers $ 6,000
2 Pre-owned Club 420 $ 10,000
2 Lightly used Optis $ 4,000
3 New North Sails for Lasers $ 1,500
3 Vang/Cunningham for Lasers $ 1,200
2 New Intensity sail for 420 $ 400
3 Intensity 4.7 Laser Sail $ 600
3 Lower mast section for 4.7 sail $ 750
10 Air bag for Optis $ 480
4 Intensity sail for Optis $ 800
Miscellaneous line and parts $ 500
And, of course, funds to help maintain and operate the boats we have!
Total: $ 26,450