Dear Friends:
We’ve had a great time taking lots of very special kids and their families out for cruises and fishing trips the past few summers. This is by far the most rewarding, satisfying thing I’ve ever done; and I feel quite strongly that I have been called to continue this important work all through my retirement years. It is very expensive to become a non-profit organization and to refurbish, insure, equip and maintain boats to carry children safely out on Lake Ontario. There are many projects and improvements needed on the boats and our docks but we are currently operating on a shoe string. Every year we pay large sums of money for each of our dock spots and also to winterize and store our boats on land during the winter months. We also have a list of badly needed equipment, supplies and updates that would allow us to bless more families and do what we are doing better and safer in the future. Please see the preceding pages for more information on how to volunteer or donate securely.
Some Of The Special Kids Who Have Scheduled
Cruises Or Fishing Trips With Captain Dave
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. . . A set of nine year old triplets, who lost their mom when they were babies; and whose dad lost his eight year battle with leukemia in April of 2012. They now live with their aunt and uncle in a house with seven children . . . .
. . . . A terminally ill preschool boy, who is confined to a wheelchair with Krabbes Disease. He smiled broadly as a fish his dad caught wriggled before his eyes . . . .
. . . . Three young children whose dad recently took his own life at a very young age . . . .
. . . . Two brothers, whose father has been serving in Afghanistan; and recently their mom and their dad (who they haven’t seen for three years) have divorced . . .
. . . . A 7th grade girl, whose is legally blind. She has very thick glasses and a monocular around her neck for reading, but she never stopped smiling that day . . .
. . . . Four brothers and sisters, ages eleven through sixteen, whose mom left the home with no warning and now dad are mom are involved in a painful divorce . . . .
. . . . A fourth grade autistic boy who cries, pouts and gives up when things become too hard for him, was thrilled when he learned he could bring a friend aboard . . . .
. . . . A teenage boy and girl, who tragically lost their dad when they were little and then lost their mom a few years ago to a sudden unexpected illness . . . .
. . . . Many different autistic children and children with Down’s Syndrome who have smiled happily and beamed proudly as they steered the boat under full sail . . . .
. . . . Two abandoned orphan boys from China. One with a cleft palette and the other a heart defect. They refused to get off the boat at the end of the cruise . . . .
. . . . A seven year old boy from Louisiana with sacral agenesis who has never known his real dad. He has gone through extensive spinal reconstructive surgery. People from his home town raised the money to get him up here for a cruise . . . .
. . . . A severely handicapped, wheelchair bound, seven year old girl with a traumatic brain injury who began to smile, move and dance with joy in her chair as she sensed the rocking and moving of the boat and the breezes from the lake . . . .
. . . . A fourteen year old girl whose doctors said she would be blind, deaf, dumb and never walk when she was born, but who has proven all of them wrong and grown up to do all of those things and also compete in the Special Olympics . . . .
. . . . Numerous children from single parent and/or blended family homes who have never known their real mom or dad. Or who only get to see them occasionally . . . .
. . . . A ninth grade girl with leg braces on both legs steered the boat proudly under full sail. She also participates in figure skating and has appeared in ice shows . . . .
Please click on the picture below to view a two minute slide show featuring some of the great kids whose lives we were able to brighten just a little. Enjoy!
Blessings And Thank You!
“Captain” Dave