
Blog of the week
The dream – School at Sea
In a small town in the Netherlands, in Ede, lives a 15-year-old with big dreams. Jonas Van Polen wants to sail for 6 months all the way to the Caribbean and back. Together with 35 fellow students, he will learn to sail the Barquentine Thalassa, a three-masted tall ship. Rumor has it that it’s one of the most beautiful ships in the Dutch fleet.
The organization behind the project, School at Sea, consists of experienced crew members and qualified teachers who will help the students find themselves and develop their talents. In the 6 months at sea, they will study the same subjects their classmates at home also study. They will have days of school, days of watch and days of expeditions. But most importantly, they will learn skills which are not taught in school, such as team spirit, leadership, time management and independence. Especially the last skill will be reflected after two months of sailing, as the students will take over the ship. Everything from navigating, cooking, cleaning, and maintenance of the machines will be their full responsibility.
Sponsoring
The journey already starts one year before going to sea. Part of the project consists of a preliminary process where the students must do their utmost to raise 26,000 EUR to pay for the trip. This fee will cover accommodation, food, 6 teachers, a professional crew and fuel for the ship.
Jonas is therefore looking for business sponsors, who can help him realize his dream. In return he will make a drone film of your company, build complex Lego sets you want to exhibit at the office, or you can just brainstorm together something useful that your company needs. Jonas Van Polen is a special youngster with many talents whose recreation is building Lego and becoming the Dutch Lego Champion and even programming robots and making tutorials of it.
Individual people can also sponsor Jonas. In fact, a heartwarming episode Jonas told MARPRO, was about his very first sponsor. In his family, volunteering and giving back to society is a duty. Jonas does therefore his part, by visiting a nursing home every Tuesday afternoon to play chess with his 90-year-old buddy. The symbiotic benefits of this connection have resulted in Jonas becoming the highlight of the week of his chess partner, while he gets challenged with thrilling chess games. After his elder friend learned about Jonas’ plans to join School at Sea, he sponsored Jonas with a generous donation.
The story of Jonas
Johas has been creative in his outreach to companies and people in the maritime and shipping industry. This is reflected in the way, MARPRO encountered Jonas. In booth 5103 at the Europort Exhibition 2021, there was Jonas with his banner, his presentation, and his enthusiasm. We fell for him and his cause right away and decided to give him some exposure through our channels.
But to fundraise 26,000 EUR in one year can be quite the task for a 15-year-old. Jonas has a limited time to find sponsors as he needs to undergo surgery because his heart and lungs don’t have enough space. He will be hospitalized for one week and go through a recovery period of three months.
The largest cleanup in history
Jonas also mentions: “It does not feel right to collect such a huge amount of money just for my own ‘growth’. Therefore, I have decided to help a good cause at the same time.” Therefor Jonas decided to help the Ocean Cleanup, a company which aims to get rid of the plastic pollution at sea. Along the route, Jonas will present the Ocean Cleanup and its mission at local institutions.
Blog of the week by Narjiss Ghajour, Marketing Manager at MARPRO. Read more about MARPRO.
For more information about Jonas at sea, follow the link. https://jonasatsea.com/en/