The Cleveland Rotary Club’s
Project YESS* 2010
*Youth Empowered to Succeed through Sailing
"One of the most important products of sail training is the development of a sense of judgement about what and whom you can rely on, and to what degree... one of the important reasons to embark on a sail training trip is to engage the world in a different, stimulating and challenging way..." **
The Rotary Club of Cleveland has a long history of serving at-risk youth in Cleveland. What better way to serve our community - and honor our 100 year celebration of service above self - than to create a youth sail training program to be held in conjunction with our 2010 Tall Ships Festival?
Project YESS is a legacy youth sail-training program developed by the Rotary Club of Cleveland to provide an educational adventure during which high school youth, age 14 to 17, work together to develop character, leadership, and relevant life-skills that can be transitioned to careers within and outside of the maritime industry. Completion of our four-week program will qualify the participants to earn a berth for a 3 to 5 day sail on a tall ship between June and August 2010.
YESS Boot Camp - Sunday, May 23, 9 am to 4 pm
Presented by leadership professionals from leading Greater Cleveland
organizations and corporations
Safety Week - Wednesday, May 26, 6 pm to 9 pm
Lead by Sea Scouts Safety Afloat and Safe Swim and US Coast Guard
Environmental Experience - Wednesday, June 9, 6 pm to 9 pm
Presented by Great Lakes Science Center and the Steamship Mather
Seamanship & Navigation - Wednesday, June 9, 6 pm to 9 pm
Led by US Coast Guard and Sea Scouts
Relevance - Wednesday, June 16, 6 pm to 9 pm
Representatives from Cleveland Fire Department fire boat crew,
Port Authority, local freighter captains and crew, maritime attorneys, yacht
dealers, ship builders and marine riggers, and US Coast Guard, US Navy,
and US Marines
Graduation Exercises - Wednesday, July 7, 5 pm to 7 pm
In addition to the students who earn a berth on the tall ships, applicants will qualify for a 3 hour day sail, and some area students, ages 5 to 13, will be chosen to experience dockside educational adventures during the months of June through August at Cleveland area yacht clubs and during the Tall Ships Festival.
Click here for a dockside education application - space is limited and applications must be received by Monday, June 14, 2010.
Applications for this program are no longer being accepted but you are welcome to view the application (click here). If you are interested in being part of the next Project YESS class, please send your inquires to:
Project YESS Application
The Rotary Club of Cleveland
1122 Prospect Avenue
Cleveland, Ohio 44115 USA
Phone: 216-236-8467
Fax: 216-623-0611
Email: ProjectYESS@yahoo.com
If you, your school or your organization are interested in finding out more about our program, or your organization is interested in sponsoring a named berth for a student, contact Project YESS at 216-236-8467 or by email at ProjectYESS@yahoo.com.
"Aboard a sail training vessel, as in life, our small piece is a critical part of the whole. The quality of work, and the spirit in which we do it, has a profound effect on the well-being of everyone else aboard. Leadership, paradoxically, is arrived at by learning to take direction. Becoming a team player. Pulling your share of the load. Being absolutely responsible. Dependable. And, learning to depend on the responsibility of others. For no matter what the particular mission of a ship might be, it is essential that she be safely navigated and handsomely attended. So no, we don't just teach sailing. ASTA member vessels and programs foster opportunities for intensive personal development - 
intensive life experience in order to advance leadership development, an utter reverence for nature, a sense of time and place, and appreciation for history, and teamwork ability. Sail training really teaches the qualities of stewardship, resourcefulness, pride, humility, bravery, strength and grace. And we learn to sail, too." **
**American Sail Training Association (ASTA) www.sailtraining.org