The Community Boating Center in New Bedford, MA began in 1998 as the brainchild of local social worker JoAnn Tschaen. One hot and humid day in 1995, Tschaen began searching for a way to give new ways to grow and learn to a group of seven youngsters in her care. That evening on her way home across the Fairhaven Bridge, seven small boats caught her eye. Seven kids, seven boats…
Three years later, Community Boating Center (CBC) incorporated as a 501(c)(3) public charity dedicated to enriching the lives of area youth by exposing them to a new and challenging environment built upon a foundation of trust and respect.
In its heyday, the center’s home of New Bedford, MA was known as one of the most important whaling ports in the world. Today, the city of one hundred thousand still boasts a plentiful waterfront and rich diversity, yet it struggles with a poverty rate nearly 70 percent higher than the national average.
This is part of what makes the Community Boating Center’s mission so vital. For many participants, CBC’s on the water programming is their first exposure to the marine environment – right in their own backyard.
“I am so grateful for the Community Boating Center and the dynamic programming they offer students from our school and our community,” said Sarah Herman, Head of School at Our Sisters’ School, a local all-girls middle school that partners with CBC for programming.
CBC’s flagship program is the Summer Youth Sailing Program (SYSP). Over the last 5 years, the summer program has filled over 3,100 spots, with over 80% of those students receiving tuition assistance. Beginner level students receive an introduction to the water focused on fun, safety, mentoring and education. Intermediate and Advanced students are given an opportunity to further their sailing and racing skills while building up the teamwork, goal setting and decision-making skills introduced at the beginner level.
The Summer Youth Sailing Program was created to help students become comfortable on the water, introduce them to the water in a trusting, caring and empathetic environment, allowing them to build self-confidence. Students work together to rig their boats, participate in morning ‘chalk talks’, sail together as a group and have a good time swimming and taking part in destination sails to interesting marine habitats around New Bedford harbor.
During the fall, winter and spring months, CBC partners with New Bedford area schools and organizations to offer educational and enrichment programs centered around the marine environment. It’s not just sailing – they have connected thousands of area youth to the water through a wide variety of programs that include rowing, kayaking, boat building, underwater remote operated vehicle design and construction, building and coding autonomous boats, aquaculture, windmill blade design and construction, water quality monitoring, marine debris cleanup, and the ocean stewardship STEM program.
For older kids, CBC has a workforce development program called the Sailing and Leadership Training Program (SALT), which was started in 2015 as a response to economic challenges the city of New Bedford faces. The SALT Program equips young leaders with the essential skills, confidence, and leadership abilities to thrive in their community.
Staff at CBC emphasize friendship and mentorship with their students, teaching responsibility, teamwork, and commitment throughout all the CBC programs. For 24 years, Community Boating Center has been a bastion of community water access for the community of New Bedford.
Local to the south shore? Consider supporting CBC in their efforts to bring a love of water to everyone: https://www.communityboating.org/donate/