COURAGEOUS SAILING CENTER FOR YOUTH INC
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Mission Statement
To transform lives through sailing programs that inspire learning, personal growth, and leadership.
About This Cause
Since its inception in 1987, Courageous Sailing has been dedicated to our mission of transforming lives through sailing programs that inspire learning, personal growth, and leadership. Courageous was established by Boston sailing enthusiast Harry McDonough, who envisioned the sport of sailing as a means of fostering unity and life skills in children of all economic and ethnic backgrounds. Courageous has developed into a nationally recognized, year-round educational center, serving our community through lessons and memberships for adults, sailing for those with special needs, corporate teambuilding, and youth development opportunities. Our main focus remains our youth program, which utilizes sailing, the marine environment, and science education as platforms for social-emotional growth. Courageous is committed to ensuring equitable access to high-quality, engaging, multi-year summer and school-year learning opportunities for kids throughout Boston and beyond. Approximately 500 young people participate in summer or school-year programs lasting three weeks or longer each year, with hundreds more sailing with us for shorter durations. Well over half of our summer students participate for free, with approximately two out of three students receiving some sort of need-based scholarship. Our programs reflect the diversity of Boston, with over 60% of our summer sailors identifying as youth of color. Young sailors remain involved with Courageous over the course of a decade or more, many eventually becoming paid Instructors-in-Training and instructors. Young sailors remain involved with Courageous over the course of years, starting as novices at the age of 8, building competence and independence as they progress through five “Steps,” and eventually becoming paid Instructors-in-Training and instructors themselves a decade later. Years of evaluation have confirmed that Courageous programs are effective in empowering youth to strengthen leadership and other crucial 21st century skills, become confident sailors and swimmers, and—in the case of our summer academic support program—become more engaged and successful learners. Courageous launched the Reach Initiative in 2012 to address the numerous structural barriers and inequities that can limit marginalized communities’ access to our programs, the waterfront, and the sport of sailing. Often, families in underserved areas are unaware of opportunities at Courageous, uneasy about enrolling non-swimmers in water-based activities, unable to transport children to our Charlestown location, and/or in need of a program offering free meals. The pandemic, of course, made the need for programs that support young people’s academic progress and emotional health even more urgent. In response to these issues, our Reach Initiative programs are free of charge and include meals, school bus transportation, swimming lessons, full-day activities, access to on-site social workers, and year-round learning opportunities. In 2013, we joined Boston’s city-wide effort to combat summer learning loss by ensuring that underserved Boston Public School students have access to high-quality summer programming blending academics with fun, engaging activities; our Swim Sail Science program is still going strong today, now serving 90 students each year—many of whom are still sailing with Courageous. We’ve come a long way in our first 35 years, but we’ve always held true to our founder’s belief that “Every child’s perspective is improved fifty yards offshore.”