Sometimes city budget cuts can be devastating for some of the folks who need help the most. Until now, the annual Boating and Beach Bash for People With Disabilities, an event tagged as a “Miracle on the Intracoastal,” was hosted by the City of Boca Raton, and welcomed more than 2,000 guests. An article last year described it this way: “Men, women and children with special needs were treated like celebrities for the day at an event that has no equal in the nation…a highlight of the event was the chance to step aboard, or be lifted aboard, one of 25 privately owned yachts for a half hour ride on the Intracoastal Waterway, the famed inland river that stretches from Miami up the coast of the United States.”
Yachts were donated for the day by their owners, and there was a barbeque with hot dogs, hamburgers, pulled pork sandwiches, chips, ice cream and lemonade. City support for this event has been withdrawn, but Boca resident Jay Van Vechten, its biggest promoter, tells us they are open for business anyway. Here’s what he says: “I am so pleased to announce that the 2012 Boating and Beach Bash for People with Disabilities now has a web site boatingbeachbash.com AND…Our FACEBOOK page has just gone live Please, please click the ‘like’ button and follow us. The Bash is now the biggest, free fun day in America for people with physical and cognitive challenges. Circle the date, March 24, 2012, Spanish River Park in Boca, 10:00 a.m.-3:0 0p.m. We’re now looking for donations, sponsors and exhibitors wanting to reach over 2,000 annual participants.
Take a look and open your hearts—it is a great event and I hope Jay, with your help, can make it happen again!
