South Boston a big Winner at the Shamrock Splash!

South Boston was a big winner at the 2023 event, raising more than $7,298 for free beach events and programs

More than 140 “Shamrock Splashers” hit the cold, clean water and raised a record-breaking $57,000 at the JetBlue Shamrock Splash to support Save the Harbor/Save the Bay’s Better Beaches Program partnership with the Department of Conservation & Recreation.

“The Better Beaches program invested more than ever in our community and beaches last year to focus on improving access for people of color, people with disabilities and nonEnglish speakers” said Representative David Biele. “I’m incredibly proud of the Commonwealth’s increased commitment in 2023 so even more people can experience these amazing coastal resources.”

South Boston was a big winner at the 2023 event, raising more than $7,298 for free beach events and programs!

“Last year, Save the Harbor awarded Better Beaches grants to many South Boston organizations,” said Executive Director Chris Mancini. “This money was used to put on a Caribbean Carnival Cooler festival, a Teen Beach Bash, movie nights, a family fun day, fitness classes, and more.”

For the first time this year, Save the Harbor also hosted the Shamrock Dash which featured runners warming up with a 1 km race before participating in the splash.

This year’s participants won prizes for biggest fundraiser and best costumes, including flights on JetBlue and great swag from Harpoon Brewery. Participants also enjoyed empanadas, chowder, Arctic Chill Hard Seltzer and Harpoon after their splash. Proceeds from this year’s Shamrock Splash will be invested in free “Better Beaches” events and programs on the metropolitan region’s public beaches in Nahant, Lynn, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy, and Hull. More information is available on the Save the Harbor/Save the Bay website at www.savetheharbor.org.

How do you spell Excellence? S-B-C-A

Cheers rang out from Ms. Sammarco’s 3B classroom as students watched their ZOOMED-in classmate, Nora Witkin, clinch the school’s top speller spot in the 12th round. The next step for our winner is competing in the 2023 Boston Citywide BCYF Spelling Bee that will take place on Saturday, March 18, 2023 at the Boston Public Library, Copley Square Branch. Congratulations to all our superb South Boston Catholic Academy spellers for their diligence, determination, and school spirit! A Special Thank you to Mrs. Evans, our Upper Elementary Literacy Coach and Latin Teacher, for organizing this Annual School Spelling Bee. We wish everyone a Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

By Carol Masshardt

There are people who are at home in an office and only go outside to get back inside, but Nicole Alfano, a mail carrier for the past seventeen years, is not one of them. Serving the community on a route of six hundred addresses that takes up to six hours to complete, Nicole, at 42, is undaunted by weather, the weight of a bag or city streets.

“I love the South Boston community. There are so many nice people on my route and beyond. I see the same people every day and try to remember all the names on my route,” she said. This is no small goal in a community where she notes that many houses that were single family now have many units, and people move more than in years past. Still, it seems to be a natural fit for this Malden native and UMass Boston graduate.

“I think it all goes back to walking the streets of Cambridge with my Nana when I was a kid. Walking around and being outdoors has always been good for me, and is so much better than being inside,” she said.

Originally thinking of nursing, she was drawn to mail carrying after she finished school, and heard about the benefits of the

It Takes a Community: Nicole Alfano

post office, and so she started at Fort Point from 2005-2014, and has ever since been in South Boston. In addition, she is a marathon runner, and the job is in sync with her belief in using her body in both recreation and vocation.

” I love to run and did the Berlin, Germany Marathon in September, 2021. I also did New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Maine, and am planning some half marathons, and the Run to Remember in the Seaport. My dream is to run Boston, of course, but I don’t have the qualifying time, and to enter otherwise, the fundraising is difficult,” she said.

“The job is a workout, and I usually do it six days a week,” she said, as if it is just one more training regimen. “It is a satisfying job, and sometimes I deliver happy mail, such as college acceptances this time of year. A lot is electronic but still real mail, too.”

The daughter of a firefighter and accountant mother, Nicole is as reliable as she is strong, and is ready for anything. “Of course, the weather gets tough when there’s ice and snow, but you learn how to dress for it, and in the hot and humid times, I stop for extra breaths,” she said.

Nicole worked through the pandemic while many worked from home. There were more packages being delivered as people ordered online, and the same challenges with weather, and there are always some issues with dogs (and she is a self-described “doglover.”) She has a matter of fact way of talking about the weight she carries, or when a man on a motorized scooter fell and she intervened. It is all a part of being committed to the community.

The summary of her feelings about her job are clearly stated. “I love the outdoors, and I feel appreciated. I would recommend this to anyone who likes to use their body and walk,” she said. Nicole Alfano is unlikely to be tethered to an office as she continues to grace our changing streets. (Carol Masshardt can be reached at carolhardt@ comcast.net)