Supporting men and women of maritime commerce. Visit http://seamenschurch.org to learn more. Founded in 1834 and affiliated with the Episcopal Church, though nondenominational in terms of its trustees, staff and service to mariners, the Seamen's Church Institute of New York & New Jersey (SCI) is the largest, most comprehensive mariners' service agency in North America. Annually, its chaplains visit thousands of vessels in the Port of New York and New Jersey and along 2,200 miles of America's inland waterways extending into the Gulf of Mexico. SCI's maritime education facilities provide navigational training to thousands of mariners each year through simulator-based facilities located in Houston, TX and Paducah, KY. The Institute's Center for Seafarers' Rights is recognized as a leading advocate for merchant mariners by the United States Government, including the US Congress, the US Coast Guard, and the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the United Nations, the International Maritime Organization, the International Labor Organization and maritime trade associations.Why do mariners need our help? Mariners occupy one of the least-visible—and therefore least-understood—professions in the world. They spend months at a time working on board cargo vessels—no time off for weekends or holidays. They communicate with loved ones infrequently, sometimes going weeks without a phone call or email home. When in port, mariners still have to work and get only a few hours of on-shore leave time, if any. Mariners are responsible for bringing to the United States the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, the food we eat—even our computers, cell phones, medicines, toys and other goods. Their ships haul away our recyclables and junk, as well as transporting the commodities and exports that enrich our country. Without mariners, our modern way of life would not be possible. And yet few of us understand or appreciate the labors of these men and women.