Treasure Hunters Have Plenty to Be Thankful For

Five treasure hunters from Greater Boston had something special to celebrate this Thanksgiving, as Save the Harbor / Save the Bay announced the winners of their "Simply Marble-ous" Treasure Hunt, sponsored by JetBlue Airways.

Bridget of South Boston shows off her marble!

More than 1,000 people took part in the treasure hunt, including participants from Chelsea, Dorchester, East Boston, Hull, Lawrence, Lynn, Melrose, Milton, Nahant, Peabody, Quincy, Reading, Revere, Somerville, South Boston, Stoughton and Winthrop.

The five lucky winners were chosen from the more than 100 beachcombers who found a cobalt blue marble on one of the Boston Harbor region's public beaches. Each received 40,000 TrueBlue points that can be redeemed for flights to any of the 45 nonstop destinations JetBlue serves from Boston’s Logan International Airport. 

This year's winners were Bridget McGrath of South Boston, Susan Hardiman of Dorchester, Michelle and Caitlin Cooper of Dorchester, Helen Anderson of South Boston, and Michael Long of Savin Hill, who 

found his marble on Malibu Beach.

Susan and Vanya of Dorchester share their marble!

Caitlin proudly displays her discovery!

Helen shows off her marble on the beach

The "Simply Marble-ous" Treasure Hunt began in June when 100 JetBlue crewmembers and volunteers from Save the Harbor hit the beach in South Boston for an early season cleanup.  Working in teams, they helped the Department of Conservation and Recreation remove trash, weeds, stray sand and debris from Carson Beach.

Michael with his totally marble-ous find!

After the cleanup, each of the participants “released” a single blue marble in the sand at the water’s edge. To spread the fun around the region, Save the Harbor also "released" 100 additional marbles
on the region’s public beaches in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull. The one-inch tempered blue glass marbles were both beautiful and environmentally friendly. They are made of recycled glass, which was made from sand.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Save the Harbor and with the community in Greater Boston, home to our 2,000 crewmembers, who mirror the company’s philanthropic efforts with their own volunteer work locally,” said JetBlue’s Regional Marketing Manager Ronda Ivy McLeod. “A beach cleanup and treasure hunt is right in line with our fun value and our commitment to the city that chooses JetBlue more than any other airline out of Logan.”

More than 100 JetBlue employees gather with Save the Harbor staff before starting the beach cleanup and kicking off the "Simply Marble-ous" contest in June!

"We really want to thank JetBlue Airways for giving something special back to our community," said Save the Harbor's spokesman Bruce Berman. "They are great partners, and we really treasure their support."

We hope you will take a minute to watch this short video
about this year's "Simply Marble-ous" Treasure Hunt.

Congratulations to all of our winners and many thanks to all of our participants,
and a special thanks to our friends and partners at JetBlue Airways!

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 23^rd.

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	2012 Red Rock Summer Concert Series	$2,500
	Friends of Heritage Park	World Folk Festival	$500
Revere	Revere Beach Partnership	National Sand Sculpting Festival	$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

Simply Marble-ous Beach Cleanup Kicks off Summer-Long Treasure Hunt

Help us find our marbles!

When 100 JetBlue Airways crew members and volunteers from Save the Harbor hit the beaches of South Boston on Wednesday, June 13, 2012, not only did they help the Department of Conservation and Recreation remove trash, weeds, stray sand and debris from the shore, they also left something special behind for beachgoers to enhance their summer fun.

  Find a marble on the beach this summer and you could win
40,000 TrueBlue points for travel on JetBlue Airways

During the clean-up, each of the 100 participants "released" a single blue Save the Harbor / Save the Bay 25th Anniversary marble in the sand at the water's edge, kicking off a summer-long treasure hunt for the marbles and a chance for five lucky winners to receive 40,000 TrueBlue points each. Through JetBlue’s TrueBlue loyalty program, roundtrip award flights start at just 10,000 points (a).

 

More than 100 JetBlue Airways and Save the Harbor staff and volunteers
began their cleanup at the McCormack Bathouse in South Boston.

"Jet Blue Airways is a terrific partner," said Bruce Berman, of Save the Harbor / Save the Bay. "They care about their customers and our communities, and they are tons of fun to work with."

"We have a long-standing relationship with Save the Harbor and with the community in Boston, home to our 2,000 crewmembers, who mirror the company’s philanthropic efforts with their own volunteer work locally," said JetBlue’s Regional Marketing Manager Ronda Ivy McLeod. "A beach-clean-up and treasure hunt is right in line with our fun value as well as our commitment to the city that chooses JetBlue more than any other airline out of Logan." 

 DCR's horticulturalist and a damp but enthusiastic team
from Jet Blue Airways pull weeds and plant flowers along the beach

JetBlue’s crewmembers began their cleanup at the Edward McCormack bathhouse on Carson Beach and finished up at Pleasure Bay, picking up trash, planting flowers, and clearing paths and sidewalks along the way. DCR District Manager Kevin Hollenbeck pointed out that 100 volunteers "can do five weeks worth of work in just 2 hours, and that means a lot."

 "DCR does great work on the region's public beaches," said Bruce Berman of Save the Harbor Save the Bay. "But they are always happy to have a little help."

Berman was quick to point out that the one-inch tempered blue glass marbles "released" on the beaches were both beautiful and environmentally friendly. They are made of recycled glass, which was made from sand. "What a great way to encourage people to take a fresh look at these great beaches, which are now among the cleanest urban beaches in America."

In addition to the 100 marbles "released" in South Boston, the group will also release 100 additional marbles on the region's public beaches in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull. "Find one on any of our great public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket this summer, and you could be a winner" said Berman.

Together we did 5 weeks of work in just a few hours.

 

To enter the contest, which runs through Labor Day, simply send Save the Harbor a photograph of you holding one of the marbles on the beach where you found it. In August, the group will hold a drawing to select five lucky winners, who will each receive 40,000 TrueBlue points that can be used for award flight redemption on JetBlue Airways to any of the 45 nonstop destinations the airline serves from Boston’s Logan International Airport.

 Send us a photo of you with your marble and you could be a winner!

To enter the contest,  just post a picture of you with your marble at the beach where you found it on Save the Harbor's Facebook page, email it to info@savetheharbor.org , or send it by snail mail to our office on the Fish Pier. Please be sure to include your contact information, so we can notify the winners.

See you on the beach!