BOSTON — Lynn beaches are primary beneficiaries from more than $50,000 raised during last Sunday’s seventh annual Harpoon Shamrock Splash.
The “pledge and plunge” fundraiser, held in South Boston, supports Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program Partnership with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
The partnership provides a summer’s worth of free concerts and beach festivals, sand-sculpting competitions, and youth programs on the region’s public beaches in Lynn and Nahant along with Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.
“This year we caught a break, and missed the really wicked weather,” said Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s spokesman Bruce Berman, who has splashed each year since the event began. “Thanks to everyone who helped us raise funds to support another great season on the beach in 2018.”
Packed with prizes and fun, the Splash included best costume winners, including Joe Skahan from Lynn as Shark Man, who won a JetBlue flight.
DCR Commissioner Leo Roy said Department of Conservation and Recreation staff work hard to ensure that agency managed natural resources, such as beaches in Boston, Hull, Nahant, Revere, and Winthrop, are clean, accessible, and enjoyed in a safe environment.
“The Baker-Polito Administration continues to foster strong partnerships that leverage excellent outdoor recreational opportunities for people of all abilities to benefit from,” Roy said.
This year’s Splash participants won JetBlue flights and great Harpoon swag for reaching fundraising goals. Carol Haney from Revere raised $1,185 as one of two top fundraisers for the event, along with Bridget Ryan from South Boston, who raised $1,190.
Fundraisers had the option to direct their donations to their favorite local beach with $7,180 earmarked for South Boston, followed by Lynn and Nahant with $4,101.
Winthrop was third with $3,021. Participants raised $2,200 for Constitution Beach and $1,656 for Revere Beach. In addition, Dorchester received $995, Wollaston with $880, and Nantasket with $815.
Save the Harbor would like to thank event sponsors at Harpoon Brewery, JetBlue, Mix 104.1, Baja Taco, The Daily Catch, L.L. Bean, Unreal Candy, PowerCrunch and the Blue Sky Collaborative, and their Better Beaches Program Funding Partners at The Boston Foundation, The Harold Whitworth Pierce Charitable Trust, the Richard Saltonstall Foundation, National Grid and Comcast.
As the region’s leading voice for clean water and continued public investment in Boston Harbor, the region’s public beaches, and the Boston Harbor Islands, Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay and the marine environment and share them with the public for everyone to enjoy.
For more information about Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and the work they do, visit their website at www.savetheharbor.org, their blog “Sea, Sand & Sky” at blog.savetheharbor.org.