Island youngsters sail away with UKSA

Isle of Wight children have benefited from exciting sailing experiences thanks to a generous £5,000 donation to youth maritime charity UKSA in Cowes.

Dieter Jaenicke, Chairman and Founder of Kent-based Viking Recruitment, specified that the company’s donation should fund disabled children and those on the autistic spectrum to experience the benefits of getting out on the water.

Viking Recruitment has strong links to UKSA and visited Cowes on Monday, 24 September to officially present the money to the charity.

Out of all the youth groups that visit UKSA, 97 per cent return for another visit, so the benefits are well recognised by those that take part.

Medina House School in Newport received £2,500 of the donation, which was enough to fund 12 one-day programmes for their pupils.

A series of sessions worth £900 were given to St Catherine's School in Ventnor, a residential special school for students with speech, language and communication needs.

The remaining £1,600 was allocated to support London school Goodrich Primary's five-day residential multi-activity programme. They have been going to UKSA for many years.

Paola Tinti, UKSA fundraiser, said: “On behalf of UKSA and its beneficiaries I wish to sincerely thank Viking Recruitment for their extremely generous donation of £5,000.

“When we heard that the company were particularly interested in supporting children with learning difficulties, we split the donation between these fantastic schools, who always thoroughly enjoy their time with us.

“We are always hugely appreciative of donations, as there are so many worthy groups who can benefit from what we do here at UKSA.”

UKSA is dedicated to personal development through water-based activities, giving young people a purpose through sailing and water sports.

Offering exceptional opportunities and educational excellence, UKSA is also a globally recognised professional training establishment that helps turn leisure pursuits into careers and trains its students to the highest level.