Raising funds to support innovative youth program

Rocking the Boat, a not-for-profit based in the Hunts Point section of the Bronx (NY), has for over 20 years been working with at-risk teens to build boats, teach sailing, conduct environmental research and provide a supportive outlet for kids with social workers, tutors, woodworkers and others.

Rocking the Boat is recognizing the Hudson River Foundation with its Whitehall Award at a fundraising gala on Tuesday, May 9 at the New York Yacht Club in Midtown. Clay Hiles will accept the honor on behalf of the foundation.

Volvo Ocean Racers Charlie Enright and Mark Towill will be interviewed by Robert Krulwich, host of NPR’s Radiolab, at a Leadership Reception for upper level ticket buyers. Program graduate Stephanie Cabral will accept the Peter and Toshi Seeger Alumni Award.

The event includes a silent auction featuring many exclusive sailing experiences. Bidding is web-based and open now through May 9 at www.whitehallaward.org

Proceeds of the event will support Rocking the Boat’s Sailing Program, of one of the most unique sailing education programs in the nation. The Sailing Program exposes young people from the South Bronx to the joy of sailing in their own neighborhood, teaches those same youth how to teach sailing, and offers wrap-around social work services that continue even after students graduate from high school.

Since its creation in 1980 as part of the settlement of the Storm King controversy, the Hudson River Foundation has played a preeminent role in preserving and protecting the future of the Hudson River, one of the most significant natural resources in the New York region and the country.

Well known for its role in advancing the scientific understanding of the River and Watershed and the application of that knowledge to public policy, the Foundation was the first major institutional supporter of citizen stewardship of and access to the River and its shores, celebrating the River and connecting its extraordinary resources to people and organizations throughout the Valley and beyond. Rocking the Boat’s first grant was $8,450 awarded by the Hudson River Foundation in 1998.

Rocking the Boat empowers young people from the South Bronx to develop the self-confidence to set ambitious goals and the skills necessary to achieve them. Students work together to build wooden boats, learn to row and sail, and restore the Bronx River, revitalizing their community while creating better lives for themselves.

EVENT: Rocking the Boat Whitehall Award
DATE: Tuesday, May 9, 2017
TIME: 5:30-6:30 pm Leadership Reception with National Public Radio’s Robert Krulwich, and Vestas-11th Hour Racing Skipper Charlie Enright and Team Director Mark Towill
6:30-9 pm cocktail reception and awards presentation
LOCATION: 37 West 44th Street, Manhattan
TICKETS AND AUCTION: www.whitehallaward.org