SARAH WILLIAMS
STAFF WRITER
Last Friday, members of the Prince Edward Yacht Club (PEYC) convened for the official announcement of the $132, 100 Resilient Communities Fund Grant. Thanks to this grant, Many more Prince Edward County youth will get their “sea legs” at PEYC.
According to the Ontario Trillium Foundation’s website, the fund was put in place to help organizations recover from the impacts of Covid-19.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) mission is to build healthy and vibrant communities across Ontario. OTF is an agency of the provincial government and one of Canada’s leading grandting foundations, according to the OTF website.
Last year, OTF invested nearly $209 million into 2,042 community projects and partnerships, which included funding for the Government of Ontario’s Community Building Fund. Since 2020, OTF has supported Ontario’s economic recovery by helping non-profit organizations rebuild and recover from the impacts of COVID-19.
“The Prince Edward Yacht Club’s Learn to Sail program gets young people out on the water, fostering a life-long appreciation for the sport,” said Todd Smith, MPP for Bay of Quinte. “This investment by the Resilient Communities Fund has allowed the club to secure the right people and equipment to safely expand this special sailing experience to a much broader audience.”
The funding will be put towards the Learn to Sail Program and, as per PEYC, and to meet evolving health, safety and service delivery requirements. It will also be used to purchase new infrastructure and expand staff.
“This will enable the LTS program that respects Covid-19 physical distancing requirements, can accommodate (10-16 years) participants and operate at increased capacity. These initiatives will allow for an operating environment that meets health and safety needs for our participants, staff, and volunteers, offers more advance training and one-on-one coaching. Over the long term, we will be able to meet the needs of the growing population of families in Prince Edward County,” as per a recent PEYC media release.
While the official announcement took place last Friday, the funding was awarded earlier in the year. So far, the PEYC has used the funds to:
- Purchase 6 new “ZEST” dingy sailboats with light aluminum launch dollies, when combined with our existing fleet, our capacity will increase to at least 27 students per week.
- acquire a new safety/chase boat the “Whaly” with a 50 hp motor and trailer. This boat is used by instructors to follow student sailors and be there to teach and assist participants as needed.
- Purchased a moveable trailer (25-30 ft.) for the sailing school for use as a clubhouse, a space for coaching, and to store boat parts and sails.
- Hire a Head Instructor to supervise other instructors, interface with parents, and promote the expanded LTS program.
- Hire a level 3/4 Instructor to teach racing skills to promote racing. The staff has now increased to four Instructors.
To learn more about OTF, please visit otf.ca.
For more information about PEYC, please see www.peyc.ca