Simpson Bay, St. Maarten – April 18, 2023
On April 15th, the Sint Maarten Yacht Club hosted their annual fund raiser for their Youth Sailing Program with a raffle and an online silent auction. After a great success last year, where the silent auction was introduced, the auction was repeated this year. A selection of 26 exclusive products, prizes or vacation stays were bid on in the auction.
Over 170 companies on Sint Maarten participated in donating products or services for the raffle and Silent Auction, greatly adding to this successful figure that was raised. You didn’t need to be present to win, but even so the Yacht Club Bar and Restaurant was filled with members, guests and visitors for this great event.
“We had a great evening and are so happy with the outcome. We used the format from last year but made it even better and interesting for the public to join. All silent auction items were showcased in an online overview and photos were posted on the clubhouse wall, so that everybody was aware of what they could bid on.” quotes Nancy Burzon, head of the Social Committee.
“A great team of volunteers were ready to handle all the bidding and the administration behind the raffle tickets. The social committee is the driving force behind this event, taking on the effort to gather donations and to sell tickets!”
Burzon continued, “New this year was a ticket sales competition for the current students from the Sailing School. They did great and I believe that made the difference in reaching a 20 % improvement in revenues from the raffle.”
What is important to note is that all the funds are going to the Youth Sailing Program of the Sint Maarten Yacht Club. The Sailing School is offering after-school sailing classes to 80 children on a weekly basis.
Sailing is known to enhance life skills, providing self-esteem, social skills and hands-on skill-based confidence. In addition, it creates a more motivated and focused attitude, a positive awareness of the outdoors and offers a platform to make new friendships. However, the sport is often considered as elite, which is why the Sint Maarten Yacht Club puts the effort into introducing as many local children as possible to this fantastic sport.
Therefore, 4 days a week, during school hours, the Sailing School organizes the Primary School Sailing Program.
“Each year, children get to enjoy free sailing classes every week, for the duration of the full school year. In the previous season the Yacht Club was able to offer this great program to 2 schools, but this season we were able to offer it to 5 schools, which makes the impact on the youth of Sint Maarten even bigger. Forty-eight sailors are joining the current Primary School program.
Through fundraising events such as the raffle, combined with donations and sponsorships year-round, we can offer students from the Primary School Program a spot in the After School program with a scholarship, in case families are not able to afford the monthly fees” said Saskia Revelman, SMYC Manager.
“We feel extremely grateful for all support to reach this overwhelming amount! By all the businesses and companies that donated, as well by the great support from the Social Committee and the SMYC staff to make this annual event happen”, Revelman continued.
Would you like to get more information on how you can support the Sint Maarten youth in developing their sailing skills, contact saskia@smyc.com.
Sint Maarten Yacht Club
The club was established in 1980 with the goal to promote sailing on the island of St. Maarten. The Sint Maarten Yacht Club organizes multiple sailing events throughout the year, with the St. Maarten Heineken Regatta as its crown jewel. A youth sailing program stimulates local youngsters to become part of the sailing community, teaching them life skills like teamwork, perseverance and confidence. Always looking to further develop sailing on St. Maarten, the Club is active in promoting the sport, as well as the beautiful Caribbean island destination of St. Maarten. For more information visit www.smyc.com