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June 1 marked the opening day for YSF’s Summer Sailing Camp with 35 junior sailors aged 8-12 participating. YSF holds eight one-week camps with a total of 240 junior sailors participating. Sailors report at 9 AM, receive a YSF t-shirt, and get underway for the first time later Monday morning. For many, it is the first time in a boat of any kind! Chick-fil-A lunch at 11:30 AM is followed by an afternoon sailing session with dismissal at 2 PM. YSF provides over seventy scholarships, collectively valued at $25,000 to those from underserved homes.

One of those scholarship sailors is Isaac, age 10. Isaac has three brothers and a sister. One of his brothers, Esekiel, 12, was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer around Christmas 2025. After undergoing weeks of radiation, Esekiel is scheduled for a major operation at Boston’s Children’s Hospital on June 12. His mom Nicole heard about YSF sailing camp and contacted Sailing Director, Clark Lewis about enrolling Isaac the week of June 15 to take some of the pressure off day-care for her four children remaining in Vero Beach while she is in Boston for Esekiel’s operation. Clark saw the need immediately and awarded Isaac a scholarship.
 
Nicole told YSF, “I am so grateful for your program and generosity. We are going through some tough times. With all the anxious concern for Esekiel, having sailing camp to look forward to has given Issac a tremendous boost. He is so excited.” During that discussion, Nicole learned that YSF camp is available for children as young as 8 and will be enrolling her eight-year-old daughter Eden to join Issac. Thanks to the support of our donors, we can extend a full scholarship to Eden.
 
We share this story as an example of how your generosity does good work throughout our community in ways no one can predict. This family was delt a tremendous gut punch. Nicole’s resilience and optimism shines through. That YSF was able to help in some small way, validates our donors trust and belief in our mission to provide junior sailing to our entire community and especially to those in dire need of a lift.
 
Youth Sailing Foundation (YSF) of Indian River County, Inc. is a 501 (c) (3) non-profit that eliminates cultural and financial barriers to sailing. YSF was founded in 2009 to use sailing as a medium to help children achieve their full potential. We operate under the banner “YSF Community Sailing” to reflect that we now serve the entire community. We make it easy and affordable for children, adults, and families to enjoy the thrill of sailing. For more information or to make a tax-deductible donation, please visit:  www.ysfirc.org  Contact: Email info@ysfirc.org  Phone 772 492-3243