Greetings from Burlington Harbor —
What a year!
For the past several years, the Community Sailing Center has steadily grown as thousands of youth, families, and adults have enjoyed a diverse range of lake-based programs each season. But not this year. It took something as monumental as a historic flood to halt more than 15 years of progress.
Like many Vermonters affected by the wrath of Mother Nature in 2011, we found ourselves learning how to recover, make do with less, and keep moving on. Despite the unexpected plateau, this crisis punctuated our mission and returned us to our roots more than ever before – Lake Access. Life Lessons. For All.
Lake Access
When spring storm waves battered our docks and record floodwaters crept through our front door, Lake Access was threatened in a major way. To our delight, the community came together with lightning speed to repair, clean, and cheer us on! Thanks to your donations of time, talents, materials, money, food, and encouragement, we successfully opened our doors after a 10-week delay. In response to the devastation:
- We launched “The Lake Today” blog to provide our community with daily reports on the condition of Lake Champlain to make sure people knew that its waters continued to be safe, accessible, and ready to welcome visitors throughout the summer.
Life Lessons
This season was also wrought with its fair share of Life Lessons. On the literal side, our Floating Classroom Program welcomed over 400 students this fall to learn about ecology and the environment. Following Tropical Storm Irene, the Sailing Center hosted Governor Peter Shumlin at an event where he underscored the crucial role our organization plays in teaching valuable lessons and Lake stewardship amidst the backdrop of dramatic climate change impacts. As an organization, our biggest challenge this year was figuring out how to continue providing so much with so little left to work with. We learned that our perseverance and high standards pay off:
- The Sailing Center was named one of nine sailing centers in the country recognized for “exemplary training and educational programs” by U.S. Sailing.
- Executive Director Kate Neubauer was honored with a Rising Star Award by Vermont Business Magazine.
For All
We’ve always held a steadfast belief that recreation on Lake Champlain isn’t a privilege, but instead something that’s meant For All to enjoy. New programs, new boats, and new community partners assured that an even wider range of people could enjoy the freedom and education offered by
the Lake:
- New community partners include Spectrum Youth & Family Services and the Girl Scouts of the Green and White Mountains
- 534 students from non-profit groups and agencies visited the Sailing Center
at no charge - 293 sailors with disabilities participated in our Adaptive Watersport program
Despite a soaking-wet and rough start to the season, we yanked ourselves up by our collective PFD straps and kept marching forward.
- We slashed our budget to the bare minimum needed to run the organization and cancelled several equipment upgrades, events, and outreach efforts.
- We strengthened our emergency management plan to encompass the potential devastation that’s becoming increasingly possible as “normal” weather becomes
less so.
We’ve done all we can so far, and we still need your help to fully recover. As the season comes to a close, we’re looking ahead to next year. With growing demand for our programming, a strong network of community partners, unwavering leadership, a sound vision, and one of the most dedicated rosters of volunteers we’ve ever seen, the Sailing Center is poised to once again deliver on our mission in 2012. We will continue the steady, successful growth that was interrupted by the events of this year.
To do so, we need your help more than ever; donors like you make everything we do possible. As a community non-profit, the Sailing Center belongs to the people who use and support it. We’ve set an ambitious – but reachable – goal of raising $150,000 by the end of the year to help us fully recover from the setbacks suffered this spring and start 2012 stronger than before the flood. Please make a secure donation online at www.communitysailingcenter.org.
On behalf of all people who love Lake Champlain, we thank you for your consideration and generosity, and for supporting access to one of Vermont’s greatest natural resources.
Warmly,
Kate Neubauer Mark Naud
Executive Director President, Board of Directors
With the holidays approaching, we’re excited to announce two more fun ways to support the CSC:
- Bid on unique gifts in our online auction ending December 13 at www.biddingforgood.com/sailingcenter
- Buy a Vermont-grown Christmas tree at Healthy Living starting December 9
