By Laura Thill
For one sales manager, a high school community outreach project has evolved into a lifelong passion.
Drew Kenney
Years ago, when Drew Kenney, a catalog circulation manager and designer for Hopkins Medical Products, had to select a community project to fulfill a high school requirement, it made sense to reach out to the Downtown Sailing Center in his hometown of Baltimore, Md. He had attended the organization’s summer camp as a child, and his sailing experience made him an asset for the nonprofit Center’s mission: to help underprivileged youths learn about teamwork and communication, as well as develop self-esteem and confidence, through sailing.
“I was qualified to sail in Baltimore Harbor and began volunteering at the Downtown Sailing Center during my summer vacations in high school,” Kenney recalls. “In college, I returned to work as a camp counselor. I worked with groups of kids from the inner city and West Baltimore, many of whom lived within a mile of the harbor but had never seen the water and did not know how to swim.” Besides teaching sailing, he coached the campers in reading and writing, he adds.
In 2013, a friend with whom he’d volunteered in college – and who currently is a director of the program – thought he would be a good fit to sit on the organization’s board. “They needed someone with a marketing background,” he explains. “Today, I am a board voting member on such issues as capital structure and program changes.”
A healthy environment
The Downtown Sailing Center offers programs designed to remove children with limited opportunity from a not-so-positive environment and place them in an unfamiliar water-based setting, notes Kenney. The kids are young – 9,10 or 11 years old – and they really need to pay attention in order to learn about water safety, caring for the boat (e.g., cleaning it and raising/lowering the sails), and communicating with others (e.g., to avoid mishaps when turning the boat or passing other boats), he explains. These tasks require a team effort. And, while the organization reaches out to kids through community outreach programs, there is some screening involved to ensure it draws participants who will make the most of the opportunity, he adds.
According to the group’s website, sailing changes lives. “Sailing is a powerful way to teach the life lessons of teamwork, self-confidence, discipline and leadership to young people,” the website states. In 2014 alone, over 1,500 Baltimore city residents of all ages and abilities were able to sail, thanks to the organization’s efforts. “Sailing broadens horizons, stimulates the mind and engages young people actively with learning and their environment. Through the classroom of the sailboat, students work together to overcome obstacles, plan and execute maneuvers, develop self-discipline and strengthen self-esteem.”
Older campers are invited to join the Sailing Instructor Training (SIT) program, a workforce development and college preparation program for at-risk Baltimore city high school students. “This program focuses teaching students to sail, as well as provides college and SAT preparation,” says Kenney. “They can transition from sailing trainee to a paid position as a sailing counselor for younger kids. Often, this is their first opportunity to have a paying job. It provides them with work experience to put on their resume, he points out. In fact, some of the campers he worked with while he was in high school and college later transitioned into counselors, working in the same capacity as he did.
Extending opportunities such as the ones offered at the Downtown Sailing Center to underprivileged children pays off, notes Kenney. From heartwarming stories – including the camper who experienced his first birthday cake ever while at the camp – to success stories, participating in the program has been as rewarding to Kenney as it has to the campers. The SIT program alone has led to a number of successes, he says. “One individual – Terrell – went through SIT at the age of 16, and worked with the sailing program until he was 23 years old,” he says. “Afterward, he was hired by the Baltimore County Fire Department. Another participant who completed the program – Crystal – is now training to get a captain’s license to run a water taxi throughout the city. And another, Shawnita, is a correctional officer for Baltimore City.”
Among other programs offered at the Downtown Sailing Center is Access-ability Sailing, which offers individuals with physical disabilities access to sailing. The DSC docks are equipped with accessible ramps, Hoyer lifts and extra room, and the parking lot includes accessible parking and wheelchair-accessible restrooms. The program provides two types of accessible sailboats: a Sonar 23 keelboat and an Access 303 – a non-capsizable dinghy that accommodates one or two people and can be adapted with a sip or puff steering system or an electronic joystick. “Because the boats are smaller, the controls are easier to manage,” says Kenney, noting that they partner with the Kennedy Krieger Institute, which transports kids with spinal injuries to the program.
The Downtown Sailing Center also offers its facilities to other non-profit organizations – most recently, A Sail for Justice – which recently held a team-building event with non-violent offenders and Baltimore City police officers. “In 2015, we had our share of riots and tension between the Baltimore police force and the citizens,” says Kenney. “Given the tension our city experienced last spring, it has been very positive to see law enforcement officers and non-violent offenders working together.”
More with less
Having worked with such a diverse group of people at the Downtown Sailing Center has been an asset for Kenney in his current role in healthcare sales. “I have learned from my past experience at the Downtown Sailing Center, and have been able to apply that to my career,” he says. “I realize that I don’t know what others have been through, and this gives me pause [in the work environment].
“Also, the Downtown Sailing Center is a nonprofit organization,” he continues. “Working there has taught me to do more with less.” Regardless of the resources on hand, he and his fellow volunteers have needed to get things done, from patching up dents in the boats to repairing sails after a storm. The same holds true at work, he adds. “Whether we are sales reps or marketing managers, we need to tackle our projects. We may never get all the resources we need to accomplish this. But we still need to get the job done with the resources we have on hand.”
Editor’s note: For more information about volunteering at – or donating to – the Downtown Sailing Center, visit http://www.downtownsailing.org.