Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Awards over $210,000 for Better Beaches Program

On Saturday, June 8, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) awarded more than $210,000 in Better Beaches Program grants. These grants will allow 37 organizations in nine communities to fund nearly 150 free events on the region’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket in 2019. 

Funds to support the Better Beaches Program come from DCR, JetBlue and the proceeds of the Harpoon Shamrock Splash fundraiser. Since Save the Harbor/Save the Bay began the Better Beaches Program partnership with the Department of Conservation & Recreation in 2008, they have awarded almost $900,000 in small grants to support nearly 500 events on the region's public beaches for kids and families in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull. 

This year’s grants will see the return of many well-attended events from previous years, along with some newly funded events. Grants support concerts, kayaking, family beach festivals, youth beach parties, songs and stories by the sea and art on the shore along with several other beach related activities. All events funded by these grants are free to the public and are hosted in the region’s beachfront communities of Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull, bringing more than 1 million people to the beach. 

“Each year we look forward to these great events that get people excited about going to the region’s public beaches,” said Save the Harbor President Tani Marinovich. “The beaches are our most important natural resources, but also serve as a cultural resource that helps connect communities and bond neighborhoods.” 

“Contained within the state parks system are incredible ‘close to home’ beaches that provide excellent recreational opportunities for visitors and their families to enjoy,” said Department of Conservation and Recreation Commissioner Leo Roy. “The Baker-Polito Administration works incredibly hard at fostering strong partnerships with stakeholders like Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in an effort to increase access and provide unique programming at state beaches and other natural resources.” 

With the support of The Boston Circus Guild and JetBlue, this year’s line-up also includes 10 free Life’s A Beach Festivals, featuring trapeze artists, acrobats and jugglers, as well costumed storytellers, performing pirates, a community art project by Save the Harbor’s artist in residence Robin Reed and mandalas in the sand by intertidal artists Andres Amador. 

"At JetBlue, we are committed to our community and fun is one of our core values,” said Donnie Todd, Corporate Social Responsibility Liaison for JetBlue, who led a team of over 30 participants in this year’s Shamrock Splash. "More than 3,000 JetBlue crewmembers call Boston home, we cherish our harbor and proudly support Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the work they do on the region's public beaches. Service and giving back are in our DNA at JetBlue and our mission to inspire humanity is what guides us as a company. Between the Corporate Social Responsibility team’s work and our Crewmembers’ passions, the common theme is good – JetBlue For Good." 

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay would like to thank the Baker- Polito Administration and Metropolitan Beaches Commission Co-Chairs, Representative RoseLee Vincent and Senator Brendan Crighton, and the legislative and community members of the Commission, as well as and our partners at the Department of Conservation and Recreation for making this great program possible. 

Rep. Roselee Vincent of Revere, who Co-Chairs the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, said “Free beach events and programs like those put on by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and their partners are important to all the region’s residents, including those lucky enough to live in Revere, home of America’s first public beach.”  

Save the Harbor also thanks our Better Beaches Program sponsors, Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue, and the Boston Circus Guild, and the hundreds of participants and donors to the Harpoon Shamrock Splash, which has raised more than $250,000 to support free beach events since it began in 2011.  

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay recognizes The Boston Foundation, the Richard Saltonstall Charitable Foundation, National Grid, Comcast, Beacon Capital Partners, New England Picture, Mix 104.1, Boston Centers for Youth & Families, The YMCA of Greater Boston, The Daily Catch, Baja Taco Truck, and the Blue Sky Collaborative for their support. 

Save the Harbor/Save the Bay visit www.savetheharbor.org. You can find out more about this year’s Better Beaches program on Save the Harbor’s blog, The Harbor Current, at blog.savetheharbor.org and by following @savetheharbor on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.