JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A key piece of a maritime training program launched by a the Jacksonville chapter of nonprofit MAD DADS is already hard at work.
MAD DADS has received a donated boat to help facilitate a program announced earlier this year that's designed to help take young adults away from a life of crime and provide them with an opportunity to learn a trade and land a well-paying job in the maritime field.
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It's an opportunity many of the men and women involved didn't think they would have. They are a class of 10, learning firsthand how to be mariners. The group just made a trip on the donated boat from Key West up to Jacksonville.
Generators were needed to help pump out water -- just one of many repairs that need to be done by the group before it can continue training on the 64-foot tugboat that was built in 1941.
"It was a real struggle," student Douglas Thompson said. "We had to go with dripping oil, taking on a little bit of water. It wasn't the best experience but a nice experience for my first time at sea. It was a good opportunity, so I appreciate the opportunity."
The Retriever, as it's named, was donated to MAD DADS to train groups of young men and women who want to be mariners. This is the first class that will get hands-on training on the boat -- something MAD DADS Jacksonville president Donald Foy said will go a long way toward making a difference in Jacksonville.
"This is a way of helping our community," Foy said. "Most of our young men and women say that they are doing what they are doing because they can't find a job and get adequate money to take care of their family."
Foy said the class, which has so far been free of charge for the students, would normally cost about $7,000 per student. He said the organization received donations that made it possible to offer the class for free, but his group needs more donations to continue doing that. Already, two students in the program have job offers.
"This program has a lot of future," Capt. Robert Russo said. "We can employ about 40 young people a year, which is going to change the community."
If you'd like information on how to donate to MAD DADS to help make these free training classes possible, call Russo, with Maritime License Training, at 904-891-9712 or Foy at 904-718-1649.