PORT TOWNSEND — A fundraiser to support the educational programs aboard the schooner Adventuress is close to its goal.
The campaign requests individual contributions of $29, which is what it costs to take one child on the tall ship for a three-hour educational sail, according to Catherine Collins, executive director of Sound Experience, which manages the vessel and its programs.
“That amount became the basis for our campaign since it’s an amount folks in our community tell us they are able to afford,” Collins said.
The fundraiser — dubbed “29 Dollars, 29 Days: Getting Kids on the Boat” — officially ends at midnight Saturday.
As of Tuesday afternoon the boat was $7,363 short of its $58,000 goal.
Sound Experience offers day and overnight programs for children and teens who come aboard with their schools.
While all Sound Experience youth programs are subsidized, most schools are asking for additional support in order to afford to bring their students aboard.
“With budget cuts and this economy, schools and youth groups are having a harder time getting their kids out aboard Adventuress,” Collins said.
The Adventuress, currently docked in Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island, will return home to Port Townsend this weekend, at which time it will begin its winter restoration at the Boat Haven.
