Your gift creates Islands adventures
Meet Sue Rushfirth, Island lover and Boston Harbor Now monthly donor
When Sue Rushfirth first came to the Boston Harbor Islands in the early 90s, it was like a new world opening up, one that few in her circle knew about.
“No one in my playgroup, no one in my baby group – some of them weren’t even aware the islands were there, which was stunning to me!” Sue reflected. “They had no idea that you could go to them. No one had ever been.”
Sue and her husband Terrance had moved with their young children to Sudbury, MA from the United Kingdom in 1989, and they were looking for family-friendly things to do and see around Boston. Sue recounted seeing the islands and immediately researching ways to reach them. When they finally got out there, Sue says she and her family were hooked.
She even recalled the view of Spectacle Island as it was being transformed into the beautiful public park it is today.
“They were dumping the Big Dig stuff on there and every time we’d go by, we’d count how many more levels they were up.”
Her entire family shared her enthusiasm.
“It was the sense of adventure – there’s something about an island, it has a sort of romantic feel to it. My children used to pretend they were marooned – that they missed the ferry and would have to stay the night.”
It was these experiences that inspired Sue to start donating to support the Islands and become a monthly donor.
“I love the idea of children coming out from Boston and having that same sense of thrill and adventure that my children did. Looking on the beach for some seaglass or going to the very very top of the drumlin and looking out over the view.,” Sue said of her decision to make monthly donations.
“As a child, I didn’t come from a particularly rich background, and I know how much I would have loved it. It would have been such an adventure for me. It just lifts the spirit somehow.”
Thanks to the support of generous donors like Sue, Boston Harbor Now was able to provide over 17,000 youth and families from Greater Boston with free and reduced-cost access to Harbor Islands and waterfront programming in 2020. Even with the challenges of the past year, for the first time, over 20% of public ferry passengers travelled to the Islands using Boston Harbor Now’s Community Free Access free and reduced-cost tickets.
With your gift, Boston Harbor Now is working hard to make our harbor more welcoming, resilient, and accessible, so everyone can experience the joy and adventure that comes from a visit to the harbor, waterfront, and Islands.
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