SoundWaters and the Young Mariners Foundation have merged under the SoundWaters brand to enhance the educational opportunities they offer to students in Stamford and environs, many of them underserved.
“What emerges,” said a statement, “is a highly synergistic coalition of nonprofits with a focus on the underserved community, committed to enriching the quality of the educational experience for young people and the protection of Long Island Sound.”
Greenwich residents Scott Mitchell and Tom O’Connell, the board chairmen of the two nonprofits, issued the statement with Dr. Leigh Shemitz, the president of SoundWaters. The merger becomes effective Jan. 29. O’Connell joins the executive committee of a reconstituted board of directors with three members of the Young Mariners Foundation, Maureen Baillie, Greg Gigliotti and Fred Lorthioir.
The partnership intends to revitalize Boccuzzi Park over the next three years, converting the Young Mariners Foundation property into a robust ecological and economic zone, upgrading and expanding the Harbor Center in the Waterside section of Stamford Harbor into a flourishing educational center and sailing facility for adults and students alike.
The Young Mariners Program—which has provided afterschool enrichment classes and summer sailing camping for more than 2,400 student over the past 18 years–meanwhile folds into SoundWaters as the Young Mariners Academy, continuing at Stamford Harbor and Greenwich Point in collaboration with the Greenwich Boys and Girls Club.
