As the year draws to a close ...

The "Giving Tuesday" Seal of Approval.

It is not too late to make a contribution to support Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in 2013.

You can make a contribution online right now - just click on the link or visit our website at www.savetheharbor.org. Or, if you prefer, you can read a short letter (see below) and learn more about all we accomplished in 2013 and what we intend to do in 2014 - and then make a contribution to support our work!

Here's wishing you and yours a great Giving Tuesday!

Your Friends at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

                                     
                                                                                                       December 1, 2013

 Dear Friend,

As the year draws to a close, you will not be surprised to learn that 2013 was a busy and productive year for Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. 

Click on an image to see a collection of press clips or collages from 2013.

In 2013, we convened 10 public hearings in 9 communities with more than 700 participants for the Metropolitan Beaches Commission to help the Massachusetts Legislature move our beaches from good to great.

• Our Beaches Science Advisory Committee issued the region’s only comprehensive report card on water quality and flagging accuracy, focusing attention on beaches in Lynn, East Boston, Dorchester and Quincy that are still closed after small summer storms.
• Our free Youth Environmental Education Programs employed a summer staff of 32 that included 6 senior harbor educators, 7 college students, and 19 urban teens, connecting 15,903 youth and teens to Boston Harbor and the Boston Harbor Islands.
• Our Better Beaches Program awarded small grants to 14 groups in 9 beachfront communities and waterfront neighborhoods to support more than 30 free events including concerts, beach festivals and sand sculpting competitions from Nahant to Nantasket.

We also hosted the 3rd Annual Youth Beach Bash and Splash, which brought more than 750 kids to the beach to celebrate clean water, and the Swim and Paddle for Boston Harbor, a one-mile, chip-timed competitive swim and paddle board race on one of the cleanest urban beaches in America.

Despite our success, there is still more work to do and we need your help to do it.

Your contribution of $50, $100, $500 or more will help us sustain our advocacy, accelerate our policy agenda and meet the increased demand for our free programs.

Make a donation online today by clicking here.
With your support in 2014 Save the Harbor/Save the Bay will:

• Convene a regional meeting of the more than 700 stakeholders who took part in this summer’s Metropolitan Beaches Commission hearings to review our findings and recommendations, and release the final report focused on economic development opportunities, management reforms, capital investments, and increased investment in staff, equipment, planning, and free programs.
• Focus attention on water quality and beach flagging accuracy, which prevent the pubic from enjoying the benefits of the $5 billion Boston Harbor cleanup on public beaches in Dorchester, East Boston, Quincy and Lynn. Our Beaches Science Advisory Committee will release our 3rd Annual Beaches Report Card and work with local, state and federal officials, opinion leaders and the public to address these issues.
• Strengthen Boston’s waterfront neighborhoods and the region’s beachfront communities by growing our cold-water pledge fundraiser to support 40 Better Beaches Program events and programs on public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.
• Increase meaningful public access to Boston Harbor and the Boston Harbor Islands by expanding our free youth environmental education programs that have served nearly 90,000 youth and teens since we began them in 2002.

As I am sure you know, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is the region’s leading voice for clean water and public investment in Boston Harbor, the waterfront, the region’s public beaches and the Boston Harbor Islands.

When we were founded in 1986 the thought that Boston’s polluted beaches, abandoned waterfront, and neglected islands would ever be seen as assets instead of liabilities was a radical one.  The very idea that our region’s young people and their families would ever be able to use Boston Harbor, our region's public beaches and the Boston Harbor Islands as a learning laboratory and a healthy place to play was a distant dream.

Today we are proud to say that Bostonians and the region’s residents are beginning to see Boston Harbor, the beaches and the islands as civic, educational and recreational resources that belong to them and their communities.

I want to share a visceral moment with you. This summer I was on the beach in South Boston with about 750 kids at our annual Youth Beach Bash & Splash. As I watched kids of all colors, shapes and sizes swim, splash, and explore together on a beach that Save the Harbor/Save the Bay had transformed into one of the cleanest urban beaches in America, I was struck by the extraordinary legacy that we were leaving to the next generation.

To me that beach was a blank canvas that we had transformed into something beautiful. Imagine what the world would be like if everyone had the same opportunity and access to something as beautiful as our harbor and wonderful as that beach.

Creating new generations of opportunities is what Save the Harbor/Save the Bay is all about. I am proud to be a part of it and committed to carrying it forward for the next generation. I am certain that you are, too.

I know you share our dreams for Boston Harbor. As the year draws to a close I hope I can count on your financial support.  You can make a donation online today by clicking here.
All the best,

Patricia A. Foley, President
Save the Harbor/Save the Bay

P.S. Happy Cyber Tuesday, and thanks for your support.

The "Giving Tuesday" Seal of Approval.

My Semester with Save the Harbor

You know that saying “Time flies when you are having fun?” Well it describes my time at Save the Harbor perfectly. Save the Harbor is filled with enthusiastic and motivated workers that create an inviting environment to work in.

I remember how nervous I was on my first day, I didn’t know what to expect from my first internship. I know now that I was very lucky to have my first experience here, and I will take a lot away with me from my time here. I have gained new skills, met some great people and learned a lot about an important and influential organization. 

                                                             Fantastic Fall 2013 interns

As a communications intern, I worked primarily on social media. One of my assignments was to post photos from Save the Harbor’s summer programs and events on Facebook. This was a chance to not only to share the photos that had been collected over the summer, but also remind people of all the fun Save the Harbor had. My favorite part of this assignment was looking through thousands of photos from the summer and learning about the stories behind them. I’ve learned so much about the youth programs and events that I wish that I was there to witness them myself.

I’ve gained experiences at Save the Harbor that I know I wouldn’t be able to gain anywhere else, and I am very thankful to Bruce, Patty and the rest of the STH staff for making this possible!

It’s hard to believe that my last day has come, but I know I am leaving with more experience and great memories! 

See you around the harbor! 

Annmarie

A semester at Save the Harbor- from Fred Looper

Goodbye for now...

 

My name is Fred Looper, and I was one of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's two Fall 2013 Communications interns. I spent about 12 hours per week in the office, with a few weekend days throughout the semester. My responsibilities included: attending and reporting on events, writing press releases, cataloging and formatting Save the Harbor press, as well as helping with any other design/writing tasks around the office.

I remember applying to the Communications intern position here at STHSTB like it was yesterday- I was excited to break into the beginnings of the environmental career I had been working towards. I heard back from them the very next day, and began working almost immediately after I started my fall semester at Salem State… I felt ready to finally test myself in a real setting, and take away a few lessons to finish off my undergraduate experience.

And tested I was! My experience here was definitely a learning one. I’d like to say that I’ve discovered some very important lessons, both professional and personal, and that Save the Harbor is a place where you can tailor your position here to your own interests. As an undergraduate communications major living in Salem, these needs were unique- though I was certainly pressed to take a thorough experience away from my term here.

I even had the first (and second) boat ride of my life!

Save the Harbor is a happy place. I was recognized for my efforts, and held to just the right responsibilities that I needed to make the most of the three days per week I spent here. Thanks to Bruce, Patty, and the rest of the staff, I’ve gained a great deal of experiences that I don’t think many other internship environments could provide.

It’s hard to leave with so much more I could learn, but I’m excited about what I can do with the knowledge I’ve developed over the past three months. Have a happy holidays, and come next summer I'll see you on the harbor!