ENDOWMENT
In the December of 2012, the course of Northeastern Sailing was changed forever with an endowment of $750,000 from Mr. Pieter Eenkema van Dijk. As the father of Maarten Eenkema van Dijk ('14), Pieter had seen how dedicated Maarten was to the team since his freshman year. He also recognized the quality of the tightly knit group of students on the team.
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For many members of the Northeastern Sailing Team, this sport has become an integral part of our collegiate lives. On any given week sailors will spend, on average, about 30 hours dedicated to the team. This time ranges from being on the water, to traveling to practices and regattas, to workouts, to the administrative business that keeps the team running. Needless to say, while still working hard in classes and other extracurricular activities, our sailors still manage to find time to do what they love and sail.
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Not only do the sailors see each other on the water but we often spend our spare time together off the water. Many of us rent apartments together and we are consistently helping one another with classes. The whole team is very tightly knit and many members make lifelong friendships with their teammates.
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This optimistic and passionate attitude has not only become apparent to the sailors but to the parents of those sailors as well; none more so than Mr. Pieter Eenkema van Dijk, father of sailor Maarten Eenkema van Dijk (’14). Pieter saw how much Maarten did for the team.
We have also regularly been accommodated at the Eenkema van Dijk household when regattas are in the south-western Connecticut area. Pieter, and his wife Yvette, thoroughly enjoy having the team stay with them (even when Maarten is sailing a different event). They also visit Boston as spectators for the semi-annual Professor Oberg Regatta, hosted by Northeastern.
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Pieter is very impressed by how far our team has come without much outside help at all. We have always been, and are, a fully student run team. But he also realized that there is only so much a group of 25 college students can do; therefore he decided to help us out. At the end of 2012, Mr. Eenkema van Dijk made a $750,000 donation towards the Northeastern Sailing Team.
This gift has been set up as an endowment to pay for a coach for years to come. It is the largest endowment gift to a sports team in University record and we are very grateful and excited about the doors this opens for us. Coach Jonathan Farrar has been an integral part of our team for several successful years now, and we are excited for his continual dedication to the team looking forward.
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In 2023 Mr. Eenkema van Dijk committed another $250,000 to the Northeastern Sailing Team. The addition means their total contribution to the team is $1,000,000. This addition was done to help the team with inflation and salary increases. With this added donation the team can continue to focus on our on the water goals. Maarten and the Eenkema van Dijk family have been a tremendous force for our team, and we cannot thank them enough.
