Boatbuilding helps steer youths right
July 19, 2011|By Alia Conley, Inquirer Staff Writer
Boatbuilder Brett Hart needed a letter written by one of his young workers for a YOUTHadelphia grant.
He chose Jeliel Bess, a quiet young man who has worked in the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory for a year. Usually, Bess doesn't say much as he sands and helps construct the large wooden boat flipped upside down in the middle of the shop.
On a cold day in February, Bess sat in the corner of the workroom to write. Two hours later, he returned with two pages filled with scrawled handwriting and black scratches over his mistakes.
"This place give you so much more to offer than just building boats," he wrote. "Even though I learned new carpentry skills, I still learned other things, like motivation to do good at anything, because each day I feel more better about myself."
After executive director Hart finished reading the letter, he had to wipe tears away.
"He never gave us much in terms of a verbal response to what his experience is here," said Hart, 35. "We know he likes it because he shows up all the time. That's what we get. It was astounding to see really what it meant to him."
Boat, Build and Sail is a free, after-school, 13-week program each semester in which groups of 10 to 12 construct a wooden boat. Youths 12 to 18 go to the factory in Frankford to learn carpentry, use professional tools, and work together to build nautical vessels.
But, as Bess wrote, the youths also learn lifelong lessons at the sawdust-filled shop on Worth Street.
Though the factory is fairly new to the Frankford area, Hart wants it to invest in long-term relationships with youths and be a place where they seek refuge.
The factory receives grants and donations from corporate sponsors, individuals, and other private funders. In June, YOUTHadelphia, the youth advisory committee of the Philadelphia Foundation Fund for Children, awarded $10,000 to the factory, thanks in part to Bess.
In the summer, for three two-week sessions, 24 youths with various skill levels - some from previous programs, others new to boatbuilding - work in the shop and plan to set sail on the Delaware River and camp at their destinations. While in the program, students take sailing lessons, and eventually they sail on day trips in the boats they built.
The summer camp's hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but youths come early and stay late. One day after returning from the Independence Seaport Museum at 3 p.m., most of the youths stuck around.
"All the kids came back totally jazzed to do more stuff," said program director Leonard Bonarek, 36. "I sat here and just watched. I could hear the sounds of tools going in the shop."
The organization started in 1996 in South Philadelphia and moved to Frankford in 2009, when Hart took over as executive director. More than 3,000 youngsters were involved in a canoe-building project during the first 13 years, but in 2009, the focus shifted to boatbuilding. The program has since served 70 youths.
Hart, who grew up in Frankford, said he wants to provide sailing trips and other maritime programs for the neighborhood while focusing on helping youths engage in a positive, educational environment.
The factory serves all students, but most of those coming to the shop are from Frankford or nearby areas. Its proximity to the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line helps expand its reach.
During the school year, two groups of students work on alternate days of the week. When one group is working on boats, the other group can be in the adjacent shop at a hangout spot, doing homework.
"We're trying to set up a place that's quiet for students to come, because they already want to be here," Hart said. "Our goal is to be the organization that makes the neighbors feel a real sense of pride and ownership in their community."
Hart and Bonarek interview all interested applicants with their parents. Youngsters can come for one or all of the summer sessions or semester programs. The factory obtains permission from parents and youths to see school report cards.
To promote learning, youths are asked to research a maritime subject to present to the group at the end of the summer session, a component called Teach Your Favorite Subject. In the fall, Hart hopes to create a blog where students can write about their experiences.
Bess is an example of the factory's camaraderie. He graduated from El Centro de Estudiantes in June, but was denied admission to the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades because of literacy requirements.
Hart offered Bess a yearlong apprenticeship - taking him beyond the usual graduation age of 18 - while he takes classes at Community College of Philadelphia. Bess will apply to Williamson again for the fall of 2012.
His mother, Stacey, is proud of her son's accomplishments and said he's on the right track to college. Hart and Bonarek are helping that effort.
"They're big brothers to him," she said. "Real role models."
Stacey Bess has asked her son about what he does at the factory. He has a simple answer.
"Mom, I build boats. I set them down and I build them up."
See a video about the program at www.philly.com/boat
He chose Jeliel Bess, a quiet young man who has worked in the Philadelphia Wooden Boat Factory for a year. Usually, Bess doesn't say much as he sands and helps construct the large wooden boat flipped upside down in the middle of the shop.
On a cold day in February, Bess sat in the corner of the workroom to write. Two hours later, he returned with two pages filled with scrawled handwriting and black scratches over his mistakes.
"This place give you so much more to offer than just building boats," he wrote. "Even though I learned new carpentry skills, I still learned other things, like motivation to do good at anything, because each day I feel more better about myself."
After executive director Hart finished reading the letter, he had to wipe tears away.
"He never gave us much in terms of a verbal response to what his experience is here," said Hart, 35. "We know he likes it because he shows up all the time. That's what we get. It was astounding to see really what it meant to him."
Boat, Build and Sail is a free, after-school, 13-week program each semester in which groups of 10 to 12 construct a wooden boat. Youths 12 to 18 go to the factory in Frankford to learn carpentry, use professional tools, and work together to build nautical vessels.
But, as Bess wrote, the youths also learn lifelong lessons at the sawdust-filled shop on Worth Street.
Though the factory is fairly new to the Frankford area, Hart wants it to invest in long-term relationships with youths and be a place where they seek refuge.
The factory receives grants and donations from corporate sponsors, individuals, and other private funders. In June, YOUTHadelphia, the youth advisory committee of the Philadelphia Foundation Fund for Children, awarded $10,000 to the factory, thanks in part to Bess.
In the summer, for three two-week sessions, 24 youths with various skill levels - some from previous programs, others new to boatbuilding - work in the shop and plan to set sail on the Delaware River and camp at their destinations. While in the program, students take sailing lessons, and eventually they sail on day trips in the boats they built.
The summer camp's hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., but youths come early and stay late. One day after returning from the Independence Seaport Museum at 3 p.m., most of the youths stuck around.
"All the kids came back totally jazzed to do more stuff," said program director Leonard Bonarek, 36. "I sat here and just watched. I could hear the sounds of tools going in the shop."
The organization started in 1996 in South Philadelphia and moved to Frankford in 2009, when Hart took over as executive director. More than 3,000 youngsters were involved in a canoe-building project during the first 13 years, but in 2009, the focus shifted to boatbuilding. The program has since served 70 youths.
Hart, who grew up in Frankford, said he wants to provide sailing trips and other maritime programs for the neighborhood while focusing on helping youths engage in a positive, educational environment.
The factory serves all students, but most of those coming to the shop are from Frankford or nearby areas. Its proximity to the SEPTA Market-Frankford Line helps expand its reach.
During the school year, two groups of students work on alternate days of the week. When one group is working on boats, the other group can be in the adjacent shop at a hangout spot, doing homework.
"We're trying to set up a place that's quiet for students to come, because they already want to be here," Hart said. "Our goal is to be the organization that makes the neighbors feel a real sense of pride and ownership in their community."
Hart and Bonarek interview all interested applicants with their parents. Youngsters can come for one or all of the summer sessions or semester programs. The factory obtains permission from parents and youths to see school report cards.
To promote learning, youths are asked to research a maritime subject to present to the group at the end of the summer session, a component called Teach Your Favorite Subject. In the fall, Hart hopes to create a blog where students can write about their experiences.
Bess is an example of the factory's camaraderie. He graduated from El Centro de Estudiantes in June, but was denied admission to the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades because of literacy requirements.
Hart offered Bess a yearlong apprenticeship - taking him beyond the usual graduation age of 18 - while he takes classes at Community College of Philadelphia. Bess will apply to Williamson again for the fall of 2012.
His mother, Stacey, is proud of her son's accomplishments and said he's on the right track to college. Hart and Bonarek are helping that effort.
"They're big brothers to him," she said. "Real role models."
Stacey Bess has asked her son about what he does at the factory. He has a simple answer.
"Mom, I build boats. I set them down and I build them up."
See a video about the program at www.philly.com/boat
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