Joe Youcha's love affair with boats began when his dad came home with an eight-foot wooden sailboat. Growing up along the Hudson River in Rockland County, New York, Joe began sailing at five, and had early dreams of designing big ships as a naval architect. Somewhere along the way, Youcha's passion shifted to small boats. That change in course was a lucky break for the Alexandria Seaport Foundation, where Youcha now serves as executive director.
ASF takes young men ages 17-21 who have found themselves at a dead-end—using drugs, dropping out of school, getting in trouble with the law—and points them in a new direction. Here they get the tools to build strong futures and lead successful lives. The need is there. Alexandria, according to Department of Education statistics, has a 30 percent dropout rate.
Through ASF's program they receive hands-on training in the art of boat building. Those who successfully master these skills become apprentices in the carpenter's union through a special relationship between the two organizations; others move on to non-union work. ASF supports the educational needs of students with on-site academic classes in GED preparation.
While boat building is what is most visibly taught, it is far from all that is learned. Equally important are the life skills students develop that help ensure a successful transition into the work force. ASF's apprentices learn responsibility and accountability, discipline, self-confidence, communication skills, and team-building.
ASF is currently partnering with the carpenter's union on a new national training center that will include a pre-apprenticeship program with GED preparation. The organization was recently selected by a local television station for a facility "makeover," to include a larger, heated, and furnished shop, giving the program the room it needs for afterschool and weekend programming and a boat-building showcase run by volunteers and senior apprentices.
Despite this good news, the fundraising pressures never cease and there is a constant need for materials and services. Yet Youcha always keeps his eyes fixed on the horizon. "I've always said that if I did my job right, ASF would go away. I want these graduates to keep doing the work in their communities... as part of their everyday lives so they can help change their communities. That's real succession and success."
WJLA-TV, channel 7, the ABC television affiliate in Washington, D.C., sponsors the Built Upon a Dream program that provides facility "makeovers" for deserving nonprofits (