“No one understands the needs of a community better than those living and working in that community,” said Deb Radcliff, West Marine senior vice president, marketing. “We think these special organizations are doing incredible work to improve access to the water, teach valuable job and life skills, and encourage young people from all backgrounds to create and treasure their very own water-life experiences.”
The spring 2017 BlueFuture grant recipients are:
- ABLE for Youth Inc. dba ABLE To Sail, Longmont, Colo.
- American Seafarers, Waterford, Conn.
- Brother Rice / Marian Competitive Sailing, Rochester Hills, Mich.
- Buzzards Bay Coalition, New Bedford, Mass.
- Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, Md.
- Community Rowing, Boston, Mass.
- City of Mackinac Island Rec Dept., Mackinac Island, Mich.
- Hudson River Maritime Museum, Kingston, N.Y.
- King Harbor Youth Foundation, Redondo Beach, Calif.
- Friends of MAOS (Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science), Monterey, Calif.
- New Horizons Maritime Center, Springville, Utah
- Newport Sea Base, Newport Beach, Calif.
- Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA), Fort Pierce, Fla.
- Puppy Prodigies, Escondido, Calif.
- San Juan Islands Sailing Foundation, Friday Harbor, Wash.
- Sail Nauticus, Norfolk, Va.
- Sea Scout Ship 5496, St. Charles, Mo.
- Space Coast Sailing Education Foundation Inc., Indian Harbour Beach, Fla.
- Student Angler League Tournament Trail, Myrtle Beach, S.D.
- Surfrider Spirit Sessions, Kailua, Hawaii
- The 5Gyres Institute, Los Angeles, Calif.
- The Cleveland Home dba Life Adventure Center, Versailles, Ky.
- Warrior’s Ranch Inc., Wakefield, Kan.
- WILDCOAST, San Diego, Calif.
- YMCA Camp Winona, DeLeon Springs, Fla.
West Marine’s BlueFuture Fund distributes tens of thousands of dollars annually through spring and fall BlueFuture grants. To grow the fund, West Marine conducts three signature in-store fundraisers: National Safe Boating Week in May; World Oceans Day in June; and the Month of Giving in December.
To learn more about the BlueFuture initiative, visit westmarine.com/bluefuture.
