Courageous Sailing today announced the launch of a new campaign aimed at raising awareness of its youth programs, which teach vital skills and have played a critical role in enhancing the lives of tens of thousands of Boston children during the past two-plus decades.
The campaign includes an innovative mix of TV, print, radio and web advertising, developed pro bono by ad agency Hill Holliday and Courageous board member Joe Berkeley. With beautiful photography and video, the campaign captures the essence of the Courageous Sailing mission and its impact on Boston kids.
“While sailing provides all the fun and excitement that keeps kids coming back to Courageous summer after summer, our youth programs also teach a host of vital life skills,” said Dave DiLorenzo, executive director of Courageous Sailing. “We’re pleased to announce the launch of this new campaign, which will enable us to grow and expand our youth programs so that more Boston children can access this once-in-a-lifetime experience on the water.”
Through sailing, Courageous kids learn how to swim, develop confidence and tenacity, build healthy relationships with peers and mentors, and learn to work as a team and be a leader. The team have found the perfect blend of images and words to convey the Courageous experience and the difference it’s making.
Courageous’ youth sailing programs:
Are among the best of their kind and making a huge difference in the lives of 1,000 children each year, most of whom are from low-income families and Boston’s high-poverty neighborhoods.
Rely on donations and the support of the community. Each year Courageous must turn away hundreds of children and families due to limited space and funds. Through this awareness campaign, Courageous hopes to raise additional funds both to support its high-quality programs and to increase its capacity to serve more children and reduce the wait list.
Courageous is an excellent sailing program for adults as well. Offering a wide range of high-quality classes and affordable memberships, Courageous specializes in making sailing on Boston Harbor easy to fall in love with and hard to stop. All lessons and memberships help to support the youth program and provide additional scholarships for Courageous kids.
The launch event, which took place earlier this month at Nixon Peabody, was co-hosted by Courageous board members Rick Pedone, of Nixon Peabody, Clay Deutsch, of Boston Private Bank, and Chip Terry, of dunnhumby.
During the event, Courageous also announced a new fundraising initiative, the Courageous Keel Campaign. The Keel Campaign is designed to ensure that Courageous has the financial reserves necessary to continue to serve Boston kids for many years to come. The Courageous board of directors is contributing over $200,000, which they hope to match with another $200,000 in commitments by the end of this year.
Finally, Courageous Sailing’s Executive Director, DiLorenzo, presented a new perpetual award, the Ladd M. Thorne Award for Philanthropic Leadership. The award recognizes the outstanding efforts of Courageous board member Ladd Thorne, Jr. and his father, Ladd M. Thorne, and was presented to them as the first recipients. Through the efforts of Ladd and Ladd, Jr., Courageous was awarded a two-year grant in the amount of $200,000 from the Mabel Louise Riley Foundation. The grant focuses exclusively on increasing outreach to disadvantaged communities, and enables Courageous to provide more opportunities for kids who truly need it the most.
Through this grant, Courageous launched a new Swim Sail Science program in 2013, which blends sailing, swimming instruction, and environmental and marine science. Swim Sail Science will be doubling in size this summer.
About Courageous Sailing
Courageous Sailing was established in 1987 as a 501(c)3 by the late South Boston sailing enthusiast Harry McDonough. It was Harry’s dream to use sailing to build character and camaraderie among Boston children from all economic and ethnic backgrounds. Over the following 27 years, Courageous has grown to serve 1,000 children each year, with a mission of transforming lives through sailing programs that inspire learning, personal growth and leadership. In Harry’s words, “Every child’s perspective is improved 50-yards off-shore.”