A Broad Reach - Humanitarian Assistance - Volunteer Skippers Sought

[A Broad Reach]

Hi fellow sailors!

I'm Mark Spencer, fellow blue water sailor from Vancouver, Canada and I'm starting up an organization which aims to organize and fund the efforts of all the independent sailors who are already bringing or would like to bring care packages to the communities they visit in their travels.

I am currently looking for any volunteer skippers who are interested in being part of a pilot project to pick-up, transport, fairly distribute, and train where necessary in their usage to small communities in their travels. Initial aid packages will include things such as water filters, mosquito nets, solar cookers, school supplies etc (quantities and items will be based on need, available stowage space, and no costs will be borne by the volunteer).

Once volunteer sailors are vetted and briefed, and programs agreed, items will be shipped to a convenient port of call as per skipper preferences. Volunteers will be asked to document their assistance with photos and a simple write-up in order to improve the process in the future.

Please respond to here or send me a PM in order to let me know where and when you might be in a position to get involved. Any feedback and potential communities in need and specifically what is needed is greatly appreciated. The better the information we receive, the better our programs will be.

Some examples of pick-up points and destinations: Cairns / Darwin / Brisbane -> Solomon Islands or Vanuatu, Panama City -> San Blas Islands, Miami -> Île-à-Vache Haiti, Durban -> Comoros Islands, Tahiti / Hawaii -> Kiribati

I am in the process of the paperwork with the Canadian government to operate as a non-profit and working on a crowd-funding platform and fund-raising effort to jumpstart the organization and would like to line up some volunteers before going live.

With your help, I envisage us as an on-going, efficient, extremely low-overhead organization making a positive impact on the health, environment and education of the small, remote communities often overlooked by the big development agencies and best served by the sailors who visit them.

Let's help spread good vibes and generosity around the world.

Thanks and fair winds,

Mark Spencer, B.Com, M.Idea
Director, A Broad Reach
Vancouver, BC


PS: any photos you already have loading your boat or helping out communities would be greatly appreciated for fund-raising purposes!
Spread the word - cheers!