Three Winthrop Nonprofits Receive Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Better Beaches Grants

Three Winthrop  organizations each received a Better Beaches grant from Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) last Saturday to support free summer beach events and harbor activities throughout the summer.

Friends of the Belle Isle Marsh received a $6,000 grant, Friends of Winthrop Beach received a $7,500 grant while the WInthrop Chamber of Commerce received a $1,000 grant.

Friends of the Belle Isle Marsh will use the money for the annual Belle Marsh Festival, as well as their Monday Night Forum series.

Friends of Winthrop Beach will use the grant to host a Summer Festival Series while the Winthrop Chamber of Commerce will use their money to host a Family Day at the Beach.

“One of the best ways to ‘Save the Harbor’ is to ‘Share the Harbor’ with the region’s kids and families,” said Director of Strategy and Communications at Save the Harbor/Save the Bay Bruce Berman,. “These events create excitement and new stewards for our region’s public beaches, who understand the value of these extraordinary urban natural resources to all of us and our communities.”

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

In Winthrop the Chamber of Commerce’s annual Family Day at the Beach will be held on July 14 at Yirrell Beach.

Metropolitan Beach Commission Co-Chair Senator Brendan Crighton said he and his fellow Co-Chair Rep. Roselee Vincent of Revere wanted to thank Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and their partners in the region.

“I want to thank them and all the waterfront neighborhoods and beachfront communities for making this another great year on the beach,” said Crighton. “Thanks to all of you, life will be a beach in 2018.”

DCR Commissioner Leo Roy said the Baker-Polito Administration is proud to work collaboratively with organizations like Save the Harbor/Save the Bay in an effort to ensure the Commonwealth’s state beaches and other parks and reservations remain popular destinations for residents and tourists alike.

“The Better Beaches Program serves as a great example of a strong partnership that will directly impact visitors of some of the state’s most popular beaches,” said Roy.
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.

“At JetBlue, we are committed to our community and fun is one of our core values,” said Corporate Responsibility Liaison for JetBlue Donnie Todd. “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.”