Bring Back the Beach -

Misquamicut Beach Recovery

If you would like to make a tax-free donation to help support the Misquamicut Beach Recovery to our 501(c)(3) organization today, please click on the Google Checkout button below.  If you would rather support by check please make it out to the Westerly Chamber Foundation and mail it to the Greater Westerly Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce at 1 Chamber Way, Westerly, RI 02891.

A receipt acknowledging your contribution will be mailed within 1 week.

Thank you for supporting the Bring Back the Beach Misquamicut Beach Recovery!

Support Misquamicut Beach -  Buy a T-shirt!

T-shirts are available in small, medium, large, x-large and xxl.  The cost is $15 each + shipping.

Hooded Sweatshirts are also available. Please contact our office at 401-596-7761 if you are interested.

Thank you for the generous support by:    

The Greater Westerly Chamber Foundation, Inc.- a non-profit 501c (3) arm of the Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce was granted its nonprofit status on March 20, 1998.   The non-profit number is 05-0494495.  Westerly Town Manager Steve Hartford was among the original Board Members at the time the GWCF was established.  Westerly accountant Michael Benevides, and Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce Exec. Director Lisa Konicki were also among the original Board Members, and they continue to serve today.

Here are the various ways you can donate and designate your contribution.  100% Tax Deductible!  Donations may be sent to 1 Chamber Way, Westerly, RI 02891.

1. Jump Small Business Recovery Grant Program

The GWCF is using its Jump Small Business Recovery Grant Program to help businesses get back up and running for next season.  The program helped 32 businesses with $73,000 in grants in 2010, after the historic flood.  Since hurricane Sandy hit in October 2012, $352,036 has been raised and awarded to small businesses to help with the staggering amount of expenses that are NOT covered by insurance.  So far 30 Businesses have received funds.  Our goal is to raise $400,000.  An Administrative Oversight Team for the fund has developed eligibility criteria, an application and a process for evaluating each application. GWCF Board members will be joined by a representative of Senior Corps Retired Executives (SCORE) to serve on the Administrative Oversight Team, along with Westerly Town Council President Diana Serra.  There is complete transparency and public accountability with this process, and all grant awards will be made public.

100% of the donations will go directly to Misquamicut businesses that need financial support to resume operations.  Membership in The Chamber of Commerce is not a requirement to receive funds.  Grants will range in size based upon donations received, the number of grant applications received, and the extent of verifiable non-covered business losses experienced by the business, amongst other criteria.  Documentation of damages will be required. 

 Designated Donations - 100% Tax Deductible

2. Westerly Town beach repair- funds contributed will be used to make needed repairs to town beach facilities, the beach itself, replacement of lost equipment, parking lot repair, new signage and support of town events that take place at this facility such as Blues on the Beach. To date $6,285 has been raised.  The greater westerly chamber foundation has been the 501c3 fund administrator of this community event for many years.   

3. In the Aftermath of the storm, donations were collected and used for Meals for business owners and their team of family, friends and volunteers and Supplies for volunteers and victims

 The Greater Westerly-Pawcatuck Area Chamber of Commerce donated its staff time and resources for the following hurricane recovery activities:

1.      We developed a logo and the slogan “Bring Back the Beach”

2.      We are selling t-shirts for $15 and $12 of each goes into this grant fund.  $45,000 has been raised.

3.      We had  50+ donation canisters that were placed throughout town with the “Bring Back the Beach” slogan and logo and our other slogan “Your Small Change Can Make a Big Difference”.   Over $6,000 has been raised.

4.      We helped coordinate throngs of volunteers in conjunction with the MBA and Serve RI

5.      We collected bottled water and granola bars, snacks, industrial gloves, rubber boots, dust masks and cleaning supplies for the volunteers and for the businesses affected.

6.      We contacted local restaurants and secured food that could be delivered to volunteers and businesses.

7.      We delivered lunches to businesses and their staff/volunteers doing the difficult manual labor to clean up.

8.      We gathered information on free storage space that may be available for the businesses to use for 4 months or more.

9.      We hosted a meeting of the Dept of Labor & Training, RIEDC, SBA, FEMA and others at The Chamber.

10.   Our organization processed over 4,000 passes for businesses, residents and contractors allowing them to enter into the Misquamicut beach community.  Our office hours were extended from 8:00am to 6pm.

We are all doing all that we can to help our business community recover quickly, and welcome your ideas and partnership!