200 years ago, the State of New York began construction of the Erie Canal and on August 4^th, 2017 under the moonlight Rochester Community Inclusive Rowing will row all night, 363 miles – equivalent to the length of the Erie Canal to fund an inclusive rowing center to serve veterans and people with disabilities.

Rochester Community Inclusive Rowing is a charitable 501c3 committed to collaborating across the entire community to stimulate rowing for all and to remove barriers to the water for Veterans and other people with challenges or disabilities.

Take a look at this Video that RCIR has put together in support of their boat house capital campaign

Beginning with the generosity and collaboration of Pittsford Crew and the Pittsford Indoor Rowing Center, RCIR was able to introduce over 15 veterans from Rochester as well as the greater Utica area to sculling from January through April 2016. In July, the visitors from the Mohawk Valley then invited RCIR to an immersion day of sculling with veterans at Camp Sitrin in New Hartford NY. This activity had spawned a $21,000 grant application to expand the number of sculling shells in 2017 thereby enabling RCIR to offer adaptive sculling week days in the Mohawk Valley region. All of this triggered by the largesse of Pittsford Crew and the PIRC.

RCIR began pursing deeper insights as to why sculling is positively impacting Veterans with PTSD and TBI from a neuro/psychological perspective with rehabilitation specialists at Sitrin in New Hartford, NY and Utica College

In addition to serving Veterans with disabilities in 2016 RCIR expanded the populations of rowers to include youth with various autistic challenges as well as our initial youth the with the challenges of cerebral palsy.

to learn more about the row-a-thon and Rochester Community Inclusive Rowing Click Here