Youth Enrichment Services (YES) recently received a $1,800 Better Beaches grant from Save the Harbor / Save the Bay. This grant program supports free beach events and activities at the region’s public beaches throughout the year. The grant will help fund YES’s Stand-Up Paddleboarding (SUP) program.
YES’s Outdoor Adventure programming gives youth the opportunity to explore the outdoors, experience new sports and activities, and develop meaningful relationships while having fun. Since YES began offering summer youth programming in 1975, YES has continuously evolved its programming to meet the need for affordable and enriching summer programs for youth from Boston’s most diverse and economically challenged neighborhoods.
YES is in its fourth consecutive year of SUP this July and August at South Boston’s Carson Beach. SUP is offered as a part of YES’s summertime Outdoor Adventure programming, and will engage a total of 30 under-resourced youth ages 9 to 12. YES emphasizes the process of learning and improving in a non-competitive environment when youth are learning SUP. Youth receive group and one-on-one instruction, as well as support and encouragement from their adult coaches on how to improve their skills and how to set appropriate expectations for themselves. They learn from their peers and YES teen assistant coaches how to keep trying, especially in the face of the difficulties and challenges they’ll face when first trying SUP. Through this process, youth are able to improve their SUP skills while developing positive relationship, growing in life skills, and having fun.
About Save the Harbor / Save the Bay: It is a non-profit, public interest harbor advocacy organization made up of thousands of citizens as well as civic, corporate, cultural and community leaders and scientists. The mission is to restore and protect Boston Harbor, Massachusetts Bay, and the marine environment and share them with the public for all to enjoy. Click here for more information.
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