Yonkers Paddling & Rowing Club's Free Public Paddling Begins June 16

From Yonkers Paddling & Rowing Club:

Yonkers, N.Y. - RiverRiders—Paddle Free with YPRC—begins Thursday, June 16, 4:00 – 7:00 PM and will run each Thursday afternoon through September 1 at JFK Marina and Park in northern Yonkers. New this season: stand up paddle boarding as well as kayaking. Walk-ins welcome; groups over eight individuals should register here.

Phil Giller, RiverRiders coordinator, says, “In the summer of 2015 the Yonkers Paddling and Rowing Club put over 1,100 youth and adults on the water as part of this program.

RiverRiders is a gift from our members and trained volunteers to our community. It is our hope that by introducing youths and adults to the natural wonders that can be found in their backyard they will begin to form a connection with the environment and become the stewards of the Hudson.”

Yonkers Paddling & Rowing Club is the recipient of a $25,000 grant from the Hudson River Estuary program. This funding will help YPRC increase the capacity of its free public paddling program.

Yonkers Paddling & Rowing Club (YPRC)

Yonkers Paddling & Rowing Club serves as an anchor institution along the Yonkers riverfront nurturing paddling and environmental awareness.

YPRC’s programs include rescue and paddling skills clinics, a winter boat-building workshop, and free public kayak sessions at the JFK Marina in Yonkers, which put over 1,190 people on the river in 2015!

2013 marked the “75th Jubilee” of YPRC’s historic boathouse just north of the Yonkers Pier. It was home to Yonkers Canoe Club (YCC) which is remembered for the two Olympic Gold medals it brought home in 1948. Although the boathouse was submerged in four feet of water during Superstorm Sandy, the members rebuilt it and continue the club’s long legacy of community involvement.

YPRC has been recognized through the receipt of grant support from the City of Yonkers, the State of New York, Westchester Community Foundation, Hudson River Estuary program, Hudson River Improvement Fund, Hudson River Foundation for Science and Environmental Research, Inc., Toyota, and Public Lands Every Day, a National Environmental Education Foundation Program.