Nominate a Volunteer
Do you know someone along the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries who takes their volunteer work very seriously? You know the type—they give their talents and countless hours of their time to an organization they love and never ask for anything in return. In an effort to celebrate sailors who give back to the community, we created the SpinSheet Volunteer of the Year Award given to exceptional volunteers annually.
In the past, we’ve recognized a stellar race committee member, a schooner sailor who donates his time and boat to take young cancer patients and their families out sailing, and a community sailing volunteer extraordinaire. The “service” we will consider for this award can take the form of organizing charity regattas, planting trees along the waterfront, working with your local riverkeeper, teaching kids boat building at a local maritime museum, serving on yacht club committees, or the like—as long as it takes place on or near water and is unpaid, we will consider it as volunteer service.
Readers may nominate one person each by January 15. A selection committee will make the final decision and celebrate the winner in the pages of SpinSheet. Email [email protected] to place your nomination. All you need to do is tell us what this person has done for the community in 2019 and why he or she deserves special recognition.
Here's a link to a story about the 2018 winner.
Want to do some more volunteer work in 2020?
Here are some opportunities to check out:
- Your local maritime museum seeks volunteers for events, docents, and more: Havre de Grace Maritime Museum, Annapolis Maritime Museum, Calvert Marine Museum, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, The Mariners' Museum
- Your local riverkeeper: check here to find which one is closest to you
- Your local yacht club or yacht club foundation seeks volunteers for anything from race committee, signing people in at events, planning fundraisers, and more.
- Your local community sailing program. Here are a few to get you started: Baltimore's Downtown Sailing Center, Baltimore County Sailng Center, Chesapeake Region Accessible Boating, Norfolk's Sail Nauticus
- Did we miss something you'd like us to promote? email [email protected] to tell us about it.
