Welcome to your Community Sailing Center!
Mission
To encourage and celebrate the responsible use and long term stewardship of Lake Champlain by fostering educational and recreational opportunities for all members of our community.
The Community Sailing Center is a community-based nonprofit organization providing access, education, and recreation on Lake Champlain for almost 8,000 people annually. The new Community Waterfront Center is a vital hub on the shores of the lake where community members and visitors to Burlington gather to play and learn on the lake together.
We engage our community with the lake through a wide range of educational and recreational programs that extend an open invitation to everyone regardless of age, gender, race, physical ability, or the means to pay. Our Signature Programs are specially designed for students, at-risk youth, women and girls, and individuals with disabilities, enabling underserved populations to access and take ownership of Lake Champlain. Our educational programs engage students in lake ecology and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) using sailing, place-based and experiential learning to meet the needs of local schools and their students.
Here, sailing and paddling are tools that enrich people’s lives, teach valuable life lessons, offer a unique environmental education experience, and instill a sense of ownership in one of Vermont’s most valuable natural resources – Lake Champlain. Along with almost 100 community partners, we provide award-winning programs to ensure our role as lake stewards and prepare the next generation of lake lovers.
Together, we are the collective voice for Lake Champlain.
As a recreational and educational cornerstone of this community, the Community Sailing Center is built on these core values:
- Stewardship
Of the lake through responsible practices, environmental education, and stewardship programming - Education
Through a curriculum of sailing instruction, water safety, personal empowerment and a welcoming environment in which to learn - Access
To the lake, both physically and conceptually, for all lifestyles and abilities, through our curriculum and tuition subsidies
