Southern California Ambassador Program

The Southern California Ambassador Program was a resounding success, with more than 150 participants sailing in 4 locations (San Diego, Dana Point, Marina Del Rey and Ventura). The trip was an adventure complete with exciting stories and memories.

We had special guests visiting us including Board member Christian Chahine, from Europe, as well as Board President John Shean and his wife Cheryl, from Indiana. We also welcomed volunteer Andy Matthews and his wife Jeanie, from New Jersey. Andy has been active in growing our Long Beach Island chapter.

In Dana Point on April 22, we hosted residents of Peppermint Ridge who had 26 clients and staff sail with us on 4 separate excursions. That weekend we were also pleased to meet with Commodore Suzanne Jones of the Dana Point Yacht Club, who stopped by to learn more about Heart of Sailing as she embarks on her new year of leadership at the club.

Isthmus Cove, Catalina Harbor

We were also delighted to meet many wonderful people and new friends. It is impossible to thank everyone, but we would like to recognize the following people for their special acts of kindness:

Bill and Pat Thurston; Paula and Bob Gray (and Shorebreeze Realty); Bill and Cherri Cary; Francois and Cori Chaker; Richard Tawtel; Bill and Annie Kohut; Marcia Last; Stephanie Cochrane; Beata and Sassan Farjami .

Thanks also to the following Yacht Clubs: Dana Point Yacht Club, Silver Gate Yacht Club, Oceanside Yacht Club, Pacific Mariners Yacht Club (especially Sparky Mundo), California Yacht Club, and Ventura Yacht Club.

Heart of Sailing to present at National Conference!

Executive Director George Saidah and Program Director Amber Small will be featured presenters at the Autism One National Conference in Chicago, Illinois. The conference is the largest of its kind in the world. Heart of Sailing will have a booth at the conference from May 25-27, where we will be assisted by volunteer Jim Gilster. Heart of Sailing’s presentation is at 10:30 am on May 26, and includes a descriptive slide show of the Daysail program and discusses the Therapeutic Benefits of Sailing. As mentioned in our last newsletter, Autism One is a nonprofit organization emphasizing research, therapy and treatment to help children with autism get better. This is the first appearance for Heart of Sailing at the annual conference. Please stop by our table to meet us and learn more about our Daysail Program.

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In conjunction with the 7^th annual Summer Sailstice, Heart of Sailing is organizing its first Sail-a-thon on June 23, 2007. The Sail-a-thon is an international event celebrating the Summer Solstice with participants sailing in more than 8 regions across the U.S., Canada and Europe. The event will benefit Heart of Sailing’s Daysail program, enabling special needs children to enjoy the therapeutic benefits of sailing. The events will include a cookout, door prizes and awards for fundraising. Advance registration is required. Registration is free. All participants receive a commemorative medallion. However, participants who register or raise minimum pledges at the following levels receive:

$25.00 Deckhand-Commemorative T-shirt

$50.00 Swashbuckler-T-shirt & Burgee

$100.00+ Old Salt–T-shirt, Burgee & Captain’s Hat

www.summersailstice.com

Participants will report to the designated Fleet Admiral, the regional representative coordinating the event. Participants without a sailboat may participate in the Sail-a-thon in one of the following ways

1. Register to sail as a crewmember – the Fleet Admiral will match you with a registered boat in your region;

2. Register as a “Landlubber.” Although not sailing, you can raise funds and participate in the cookout and events;

3. Sponsor a crew or individual Sailor.

Participants are encouraged to register as “crews” and may choose a crew name for the event. Prizes will be awarded in each region for the crew and for the individual with the highest fundraising totals.

For more info: call George at 812-935-7245 or e-mail: gsaidah@heartofsailing.org

GRANT AWARDS

Heart of Sailing has received two new grants from the Lilly Endowment and the Nina Mason Pulliam Trust to help fund our 2007 Daysail Programs. We appreciate the efforts of our grantwriters in preparing and submitting the applications as well as our sincerest gratitude to the organizations for approving our requests.

WELCOME ABOARD

F. Edward Yazbak MD, FAAP, has recently joined our Board of Directors.

Dr. Yazbak practiced pediatrics and was a school physician in Northern Rhode Island for 34 years.

He was Assistant Member, Institute of Health Sciences and Pediatric Director of the Child Development Study at Brown University. Prior to that he served as the Assistant Clinical Director of the Charles V. Chapin Hospital in Providence, at the time the leading center for infectious diseases in New England.

In 1998, Dr. Yazbak founded TL Autism Research in Falmouth, MA. Since then he has been investigating vaccine injury and the autoimmune causes of regressive autism, with particular attention to increasing incidence and maternal revaccination. He has testified as an expert witness in cases involving autism, vaccine injury and Shaken Baby Syndrome and has published extensively on those subjects.

Ed and his wife Maureen have four children and twelve grandchildren.

Welcome also to Capt. Dave McCabe, who is the new Chapter Director for Houston. Dave will be featured in our June issue!

We wanted to express our thanks to Debbie Demora, for appearing on our April radio broadcast. Debbie and her son, Anthony sailed with us at Dana Point on 3 occasions and we are looking forward to sailing with them again. Debbie’s interview discussed Anthony’s experiences with our Daysail program and how he has benefitted. To hear the archive of the broadcast, please visit: http://autismone.org/radio/. In May, our interview will be with Bill and Cherri Cary.

DONORS

Thanks to all of the families who have recently contributed to Heart of Sailing’s Daysail Program. Special thanks to the following donors:

John & Cheryl Shean

Barbara Ritter

Les Miller

Bill & Pat Thurston

Bill & Cherri Cary

Brett & Linda Higgins

For more information about donations and other items needed please check our website, http://heartofsailing.org/whatisneeded.asp

VOLUNTEERS

We couldn’t achieve our mission without the hard work of our volunteers. In June, we will be honoring our Volunteer of the Year, who deserves recognition for his commitment to Heart of Sailing since our inaugural year. The announcement regarding the recipient is coming soon. Meanwhile, special thanks to volunteers Dave McCabe, Cheryl Shean, Claire Butler, Jim Gilster, and Cherri Cary for their efforts on our upcoming projects.

UPCOMING EVENTS

DAYSAILS:

Houston Launch: May 9, 2007

Autism One National Conference
May 23-27, Chicago, IL

Summer Sailstice Sail-a-thon

June 23, 2007

little heart newsletter is a publication of Heart of Sailing, a non-profit foundation dedicated to sharing the joy and therapeutic benefits of sailing with children with developmental disabilities. Contents herein are for information purposes and are the property of HoS unless otherwise identified. For questions, comments, advertising opportunities or other information contact us by phone at (812) 935-SAIL, visit our website www.heartofsailing.org or email us at news@heartofsailing.org.

Download this newsletter in PDF format

Greetings from Your Program Director, Amber Small

In this edition:

Ø Southern California: What an Adventure

Ø Autism One National Conference

Ø Summer Sailstice: Sail-a-thon