90 SECOND STATEMENT- SAILABILITY BAYSIDE

 This month I’m holding the first Bonner Volunteer Awards, which I’ve spoken about before here. In the spirit of these awards, today I’d like to speak on Sailability Bayside, an outstanding volunteer organisation in Bonner that has been providing a tremendous service for local people with disabilities for many years.

A few weeks ago I spent a beautiful morning with the Sailability volunteers down at Manly Boat Harbour. It was great seeing them in action. Every week on Mondays and Thursdays between 9am and 2pm, the volunteers take up to 85 people with disabilities and their carers out sailing in small dinghies. They also sail on their yacht Faith, which has been designed specifically for the disabled.

Unfortunately time didn’t allow me to get out on the water with them, but it was heart-warming to see how excited each participant was. Sailability does truly selfless work making these fun adventures available to people with disabilities every week. As a not-for-profit group they rely on donations, fundraising and grants. Most importantly, they need volunteers to keep operating.

Nanetta from Sailability tells me they require around 30 more volunteers to help out on their sailing days. I would encourage anyone who loves sailing and wants to give back to the community to consider volunteering their time to this wonderful organisation.