Helen Wills Hanley was an active sailor both in the Connecticut and South Carolina areas. She competed in many U.S. Women’s Championships for the Adams Cup in both regions. After moving to South Carolina in the mid-forties, she started the Wateree Sailing Club and became its first Commodore in 1962. During her time as Commodore, she became active in the South Atlantic Yacht Racing Association (SAYRA) and was an active racer throughout the region.
Since her passing in 1978, SAYRA received a donation from her estate creating the Helen Hanley Memorial Fund, HHMF. SAYRA established a Board of Stewarts to manage the Fund’s principal investment, returns, additional contributions and grants. The Helen Hanley Memorial Fund continues to build a treasure and gains in popularity throughout the years.
The Fund's purpose is to encourage SAYRA members to:
- Participate in US Sailing Regional and National Championship events,
- Conduct and encourage participation in Training Programs, especially those directed principally toward the development of the sailing abilities of our youth and the training of youth instructors, and
- Compete at a National Level in the Optimist sailboat.
This encouragement is expressed by means of financial assistance in the form of a grant to qualified applicants. Grants are applied for each target area of encouragement by clicking the appropriate link below.
All grants funded by the Helen Hanley Memorial Fund are contingent upon the Committee's evaluation of each application's merit and SAYRA Executive Committee's opinion of the fund's financial condition.
SAYRA’s volunteers are honored to administer the Helen Hanley Memorial Fund. We take great pride it’s members using grants and, most importantly, their continued contribution to the Fund.
