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After 10 hours of rowing around Manhattan, participants of Rocking the Boat’s “Rocking Manhattan” event on September 28th said they were ready for more. The 30-mile row in hand-made boats is a fundraiser for Rocking the Boat, a Bronx-based program. The $440,000 raised represents about 13% of the annual budget. Rocking the Boat teaches children to build, sail, and row boats. Through these activities, they hope to build leadership and social/emotional skills as well as encourage interest in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields.
The weather for the event was beautiful, leading to a bright, clear day of rowing for the volunteers. Many of these volunteers were alumni or board members, eager to raise money and give back to the youth organization. Groups of relatives, friends, and co-workers form creatively-named teams to operate hand-made boats. Each team was tasked with raising at least $25,000, though most raised more. The top fundraising team was GStream, a Goldman-Sachs team, raising $90,788. Flotsam and Jetsam came in a close second, with $87,642.
“The day itself was amazing, there was such a good and happy vibe,” said Alies van den Berg, a rower with the team Dismasted, “everyone was so happy to row around the island in support of this amazing cause. Together we can really make a difference in people’s lives. It was also very nice to meet the Rocking the Boat team who made this event happen (and there is a LOT of organization behind the scenes), as well as some of the programs’ alumni.”
Here are some pictures from this inspiring event:
