Monday, June 25, 2012

Save the Harbor / Save the Bay Awards Over $25,000 in Better Beaches Grants


Save the Harbor Save the Harbor / Save the Bay awarded more than $25,000 in grants to 12 groups to support 30 free public events in nine beachfront communities from Nahant to Nantasket at an awards breakfast at our office on the Boston Fish Pier on Saturday, June 23rd.

Recipients of this year's Better Beaches grants with representatives
from Save the Harbor / Save the Bay, Harpoon Brewery and JetBlue Airways

This year’s “Better Beaches” events include sand sculpting competitions, beachfront concerts, environmental education programs, family fun nights, reading programs, and beach programs.

“The region’s 19 miles of sandy public beaches have the power to connect a million people with the Harbor we have worked so hard to restore and protect,” said Patricia A. Foley, President of Save the Harbor / Save the Bay. “We are proud to support our partners in the city's waterfront neighborhoods and beachfront communities as they work to bring the regions kids and families to their beaches and the harbor.”

In addition to the grant, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay also gave each group 22 one-inch diameter blue marbles to scatter on their respective beaches. Anyone who finds one of these marbles between now and the end of the summer will be entered into a drawing to win one of five prizes of 40,000 TrueBlue points from JetBlue Airways. Click here for more information about this "Marble-ous" summer treasure hunt.

Save the Harbor's "Better Beaches" program was launched in 2008 in partnership with The Boston Foundation, whose early support helped make it a success. In the past four years, local community partners in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull have leveraged $116,500 in small grants from Save the Harbor with $403,500 in cash and in-kind donations from local government and small businesses for a total of $520,000 to support 130 free beach events and activities for everyone to enjoy.

Funds to support this year's grants came from the 2nd annual Harpoon Helps Cupid Splash and the more than 500 “Splashers” who plunged into the chilly ocean water to support their beach. Additional financial support comes from Save the Harbor's "Better Beaches Program" funding partners at Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue Airways, National Grid, Comcast Massachusetts, the Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust, Russo Marine and Legal Sea Foods, as well as our in-kind supporters at the BCYF Curley Community Center and the Department of Conservation & Recreation.

About Save the Harbor / Save the Bay
Founded in 1986, Save the Harbor / Save the Bay is the region’s leading voice for clean water and the restoration and protection of Boston Harbor, the waterfront, our region's public beaches, the Boston 
Harbor Islands and the marine environment.

To find out more about Save the Harbor / Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Programs, visit our website at http://www.savetheharbor.org.


2012 Better Beaches Grant Recipients

Community
Group
Event
Amount
Lynn &
Nahant
Friends of Lynn & Nahant Beach
$2,500
Friends of Heritage Park
World Folk Festival
$500
Revere
Revere Beach Partnership
$5,000
Winthrop
Friends of Winthrop Beach
Family activities on the beach
$1,000
Friends of Belle Isle Marsh
Educational activities on the beach
$1,000
East Boston
East Boston YMCA
Summer Food Service Program and Campfires
$3,500
South Boston
South Boston Neighborhood House
Family Fun Night on the Beach
$2,500
City Point Neighborhood Association
Beat the Summer Sizzle at Pleasure Bay
$1,000
BCYF Curley Community Center
Summer Youth Programs
$3,500
Dorchester
Friends of Savin Hill Shores
Beach Festival Family Movie Night
$2,000
Quincy
Friends of Wollaston Beach
Kids Fest
$1,000
Quincy Beaches and Coastal Commission
Pumpkin Fest
$1,000
Hull
Friends of Paragon Carousel
Museum Projects and Reading Program
$1,000
Hull Nantasket Chamber of Commerce
Endless Summer Waterfront Festival
$1,000

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