Hudson River Community Sailing receives three grants for Adaptive Sailing Program

Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS) © James Schriebl

Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS), a leading nonprofit organization that provides sailing education and recreation for underserved New York City youth and the community at large, is proud to announce that it has been awarded three grants to fund its Adaptive Sailing Program: $25,000 from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation for 2022, $50,000 from the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation for 2023-2024, and $20,000 from the NYC Green Relief & Recovery Fund for 2022-2023. These grants will help HRCS expand its work for people living with Spinal Cord Injuries and Illnesses (SCI), and provide additional waterfront recreational opportunities for New Yorkers living with other disabilities.

Launched in 2021, HRCS's Adaptive Sailing Program provides waterfront access, sailing education, and community building to New Yorkers living with physical and developmental disabilities. People living with disabilities often become isolated by a lack of recreational and social opportunities, especially outdoor opportunities, and HRCS aims to help shift this paradigm for some New Yorkers. Drawing upon 14 years of providing transformative on-water programs, HRCS's goal is to make New York City a place where anyone, regardless of physical or developmental challenges, can feel safe, have fun, and be empowered on the water.

The grant HRCS received from the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is part of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation National Paralysis Resource Center (NPRC) 2022 1st Cycle Direct Effect Quality of Life grants. To date, 57 grants totaling $1,216,425 have been awarded. The Quality of Life Grants Program supports nonprofit organizations that empower individuals living with paralysis. The Craig H. Neilsen Foundation funds both community programs and scientific research that help improve the lives of people living with SCIs. There have been 2,260 grants totaling $277 million awarded since 2003. The NYC Green Relief & Recovery Fund was launched in 2020 to support stewardship organizations that care for New York City's parks and open spaces. In July 2021, the fund awarded 64 grants totaling nearly $2 million to NYC-based small- and medium-sized nonprofit organizations to support environmental stewardship and health and wellness programs in parks, gardens, and open spaces.

"We are honored and privileged to receive these grants," said HRCS Executive Director Robert Burke. "We are thankful to partner with these organizations to remove the barriers for people living with disabilities, and the isolation those barriers create."