The Wappingers Crew Club, a 501(c)3 charitable organization, has been rowing since 2004. We are an approved, parent run and funded club, operating within the Wappingers Central School District for the benefit of Wappingers Central School Students.Our club consists of dedicated athletes from John Jay and Roy C. Ketcham High Schools as well as Van Wyck and Wappingers Junior High Schools.As many of you may have already heard, on March 23, 2016 during our evening crew practice the winds picked up and turned the beautiful, calm Hudson River extremely rough. Within five minutes it went from dead calm to rolling white caps. Our boats became "swamped" when water entered the boats over the sides, filling our crew boats and caused them to sink. Twenty-four of the 57 high school students that were fully submerged following the boat sinking were evaluated and treated by emergency officials at the Marist Boathouse. Five students that "weren't responding" to the efforts to increase their body temperatures were transported to the hospital.As one of those five students that went to the hospital, I can tell you that we are all just fine but our club has incurred substantial expenses. Four of our boats have considerable damage and had to be transported to Baltimore for repairs. Transportation of the boats is not covered by insurance and the club needs to cover the cost of the deductible too, some boats might not be able to be repaired. Our cox boxes, coaches launch boats and other equipment have been damaged. Our first aid supplies that were utilized or damaged due to water have to be replaced. Other clubs have been very supportive and are lending us their boats for practice but we need to raise funds to cover expenses and get our boats ready for racing season.Our first race is less than two weeks away and we are all looking forward to a great racing season.We thank our coaches for keeping us safe and we thank you in advance for any assistance you can provide. Anything helps and we thank you for your support. Please donate what you can and share our cause anywhere you can. #crew# #323#Thank you,Wappingers Crew Club