BOSTON – On March 2, one of the coldest days of the year, 200 brave souls plunged into the icy 32-degree waters of Constitution Beach in East Boston for the 15th Annual JetBlue Shamrock Splash.
The water was cold, but the shore was colder and felt like a crisp ten degrees. The shivering crowd was a medley of people decked out in bathing suits and silly costumes like sharks and flamingoes who screamed and cheered as they ran into Boston Harbor for the big splash a little after noon.
The JetBlue Shamrock Splash is a fundraiser hosted by the nonprofit Save the Harbor/Save the Bay for their Better Beaches Grant Program in partnership with the Department of Conservation and Recreation. The Better Beaches Grant Program awards grants to individuals and organizations who produce free events in the summer on the Department of conservation and Recreation’s public beaches from Nahant to Nantasket.
Rep. Adrian Madaro of East Boston and Co-Chair of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, who was in attendance with his young son, Matteo, said, “As Co-Chair of the Metropolitan Beaches Commission, I want to thank all of the splashers for their dedication especially in this freezing cold, and the fundraisers for their efforts to support our beaches and our communities.”
Chris Mancini, Save the Harbor’s executive director said about the Better Beaches Grant Program, “The goal of the grant program is to support free public events that encourage people to get out on some of the country’s cleanest urban beaches and enjoy our spectacular urban natural resources. This year’s grants will focus on breaking down barriers especially for people of color, people who don’t speak English as a first language, and ADA-accessibility.”
The Splash also includes free roundtrip JetBlue tickets for the top two costume contest winners and the top two fundraisers. The contest winners were “Tiger King,” or Paula Kany of Gloucester and James Giltner of South Boston, who was dressed as one of the Deer Island Wastewater Treatment Plant’s egg-shaped digesters – very fitting for a Save the Harbor event.
The costume contest judges were JetBlue’s Donnie Todd and Kennedy Elsey from “Karson and Kennedy” on Mix 104.1. Both Todd and Elsey have bragging rights as long-time Splash participants.
Todd said, “This is my thirteenth year of plunging, so this is nothing new to me. It hypes me up every year and gets me ready for spring.” Not letting the wind deter him he continued, “It’s always a pleasure being able to support Save the Harbor’s Better Beaches Program to raise money for community events and clean beaches.”
The top fundraisers were Dave Nardella, John Murphy and Jeff Regan of South Boston, who raised $11,028 and won for the largest team – nearly 100 members of their Penguin Plunge; and Rob McBride of Hanover
who raised $2,780.
The Splash exceeded its $50,000 goal, raising over $56,000. Each community raised the following amounts for their summer beach programming:
East Boston $9,138
South Boston $8,953
Lynn & Nahant $6,978
Wollaston $6,589
Nantasket $4,366
Dorchester $3,838
Revere $3,140
Winthrop $2,908
After the splash, participants warmed up in the FMC Ice Sports rink and snagged a hot bowl of clam chowder from The Daily Catch and warm empanadas and rice and beans from Bono. Refreshing beverages were provided by Downeast, Sam Adams, Dogfish Head, Topo Chico and Goldpeak. Volo Boston included beach games and a lively DJ set by Rilla Force kept people smiling and moving outside despite the wind chill.
The Shamrock Splash and Better Beaches Program is also supported by sponsors including the Department of Conservation and Recreation and the Healey/Driscoll administration for their important annual investment in the Better Beaches Grant Program and free beach events all summer long; JetBlue, FMC Ice Sports, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Boston Consulting Group, Calamari Fisheries, Coast Cannabis, Comcast, Harpoon Brewery, NamaStay Sober, Volo Sports, Income Research + Management, National Grid, P&G Gillette, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, the YMCA of Greater Boston, Liberty Mutual Foundation, Coca-Cola Company, Eastern Salt Company, Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, and Massport.
