— The Council of American Master Mariners, Inc. —
Port of New York / New Jersey Chapter
PONY/NJ Philanthropic Activities
| Port of New York / New Jersey Main Page | Philanthropy |
Next Meeting: April 22, 2008, Contact chapter officers for location
Page last updated on Wed, Dec 05, 2007
The chapter can be very proud of the wise use of the funds it has accumulated over the last ten years. By careful budgeting, consistent dues collection and sound fiscal policies, we’ve been able to advocate for our profession, support and foster new entrants into our field with scholorships, and more.
We plan a continued grant program this coming year to help our young men and women on their first steps into our industry. Not every young person gets to go to one of our wonderful academies or colleges. We are assisting a fledgling feeder college training young students to get their seaman’s papers. A good beginning for those less fortunate.
Our grants aren’t limited to scholarships. We have supported the following:
PONY/NJ has made great efforts to reach out to the marine community seeking support of the Maritime Technology Program at the Kingsborough Community College. This two year vocational certificate program trains a combined class membership of seventy students. They are taught boat handling,sailing, outboard/inboard engines, machinery & shaft alignment, aluminum welding, fiberglass hull repair, travel lift operation, deck seamanship and splicing and everything they need to know to work on in an unlicensed capacity on deck or in the engine room of work boats, dinner boats, tugs, ferries, launches and marinas.
’05 Scholarships from PONY/NJ made it possible for the top three men in the graduating class to go on and study for their limited masters' licenses. ’06 Scholarships will be used by mid-termers to assist with their tuition.
Kingsborough Community College in Brooklyn sits on the very same ground as the former USMSTS Sheepshead Bay, where 10,000 of us were trained every 90-120 days in WWII. The same thing was happening at Pass Christian, MS and at Treasure Island, CA. So, 30,000 Messmen, OS & Wipers were being turned out every quarter of the year for some three years or more.
Similar training is not easy to come by today. The Maritime Technology Program at KCC, headed by CAPT Anthony DiLernia, is first-class, turning our seafarers for the towing, dinner boat, fishing and work boat sections of the Greater NYC Waterfront. Our scholarships will aid and make it possible for a total of six young, often underprivileged youth, to obtain seamen’s papers and set them on a course for licenses. The license training costs more than our Scholarship Grants. Some courses cost $700 - $800. We expect a report from the first three recipients in the near future. CAPT Stephens has been invited to join the college’s Maritime Technology curriculum advisory committee.
If you would like to assist in providing even more assistance to KCC, please do so. Include the contribution with your dues payment, or send a check to our treasury indicating your support for our KCC Scholarship program.
The Maritime Society of NYC has generously granted $1,500 to the program, to be used to send seven students to a USCG approved fire-fighting program. This will give the students upgraded endorsements on their seamen’s papers when issued.