The White Lake Sailing School is seeking donations to fund its annual operations, which aim to keep the sport of sailing alive for the new generation.
According to a fundraiser on Zeffy, which is a zero-fee fundraising platform for nonprofits, the school is just over a third of the way to its $60,000 goal as of Monday, Aug. 25.
"Being a nonprofit, we barely scrape by every year," said Camden Seymour, the school's program director. "We have to buy new boats. We have regatta sign-up fees each year. We have to pay the staff, even if we have down years. There are a ton of extra expenses we have to cover. Insurance costs are through the roof."
Another thing the school would like to accomplish in the long term is purchasing butterfly sailing boats. Butterflies are one-person vessels that Seymour said are "the perfect boat" for 14-17 year old sailors who are learning to operate boats solo, but despite their small size, they are expensive. Seymour said new butterflies cost $7,000, and previous attempts to raise money for them haven't produced the results the school hoped.
"These other sailing schools are selling their boats after X number of years and buying new ones," Seymour said. "In sailing, the older your boat is it's more likely to take on water, and the foam on the inside gets wet and heavy, so it's slower."
The school operates out of the White Lake Yacht Club and has sessions in June and July. There are also a lot of opportunities to sail in regattas through the school. Seymour is lead instructor at the school, and according to its website, there are four other instructors on staff.
Seymour said he was pleased with the turnout for this year's school, which was close to 60 students over the course of the sessions. A good sign for the future? The biggest class this year was in the 6-9 year old age group.
"One of the sessions was 16 kids," Seymour said with a laugh. "That was a lot of 6-9 year olds...It's hard to teach them individually because there's so many of them. That was kind of our max. The session is only a week long. They all wanted to come back the following week, and we had 13."
The school is not just a job for Seymour, a Michigan State University senior; it's going back to his roots. Now in his second year as program director - prior to that he was an instructor - Seymour grew up learning to sail through the school himself. His family is from Grand Rapids and has a home in Whitehall.
"This is how I spent my summers as a kid," Seymour said. "I met a ton of lifelong friends. I want to see it do well. It was a big part of my life and it's personal for me."
According to a fundraiser on Zeffy, which is a zero-fee fundraising platform for nonprofits, the school is just over a third of the way to its $60,000 goal as of Monday, Aug. 25.
"Being a nonprofit, we barely scrape by every year," said Camden Seymour, the school's program director. "We have to buy new boats. We have regatta sign-up fees each year. We have to pay the staff, even if we have down years. There are a ton of extra expenses we have to cover. Insurance costs are through the roof."
Another thing the school would like to accomplish in the long term is purchasing butterfly sailing boats. Butterflies are one-person vessels that Seymour said are "the perfect boat" for 14-17 year old sailors who are learning to operate boats solo, but despite their small size, they are expensive. Seymour said new butterflies cost $7,000, and previous attempts to raise money for them haven't produced the results the school hoped.
"These other sailing schools are selling their boats after X number of years and buying new ones," Seymour said. "In sailing, the older your boat is it's more likely to take on water, and the foam on the inside gets wet and heavy, so it's slower."
The school operates out of the White Lake Yacht Club and has sessions in June and July. There are also a lot of opportunities to sail in regattas through the school. Seymour is lead instructor at the school, and according to its website, there are four other instructors on staff.
Seymour said he was pleased with the turnout for this year's school, which was close to 60 students over the course of the sessions. A good sign for the future? The biggest class this year was in the 6-9 year old age group.
"One of the sessions was 16 kids," Seymour said with a laugh. "That was a lot of 6-9 year olds...It's hard to teach them individually because there's so many of them. That was kind of our max. The session is only a week long. They all wanted to come back the following week, and we had 13."
The school is not just a job for Seymour, a Michigan State University senior; it's going back to his roots. Now in his second year as program director - prior to that he was an instructor - Seymour grew up learning to sail through the school himself. His family is from Grand Rapids and has a home in Whitehall.
"This is how I spent my summers as a kid," Seymour said. "I met a ton of lifelong friends. I want to see it do well. It was a big part of my life and it's personal for me."
Those interested in donating to the Sailing School can visit the following link: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/e134d71f-5d98-48ca-bd90-74ab74eb4b51.
