The Beachcombing Center
did you ever have a little dream, but sort of more of a big lifelong dream, and then one day everything kinda falls into place, and you’re so excited and terrified at the same time that you can hardly breathe, and you definitely can’t sleep?
that’s me today.
I’m thrilled to announce the future opening of a center for international beachcombing funds!
This project is the culmination of years of work and the visions of a number of people I have worked with over the years, and ideally, the global beachcombing community at large.
It’s a home for all of us, whether folks are able to join us personally for a beachcombing excursion on the shores of the Chesapeake and beyond and to visit our future location and its collections from around the world, or virtually stop in for video coverage of our changing monthly exhibits, I’m thrilled to host this exciting journey into the curation of our treasured finds from across the globe.
The mission of the museum is centered around education of beachcombed finds and raising awareness about coastal erosion and marine debris. I keep hearing the Joni Mitchell song “Yellow Taxi” in my head.. “they took all the beaches, and put ’em in a beach museum..” Sadly, we are losing so many shorelines to coastal erosion. The pieces of history we’ve found on those shorelines deserves to be honored.
I didn’t know, but I somehow always knew. as treasures have been sent or discovered, and upon acquiring the initial Sea Glass Center collection, I found myself organizing items into these “future displays” or “well if there was ever a museum.” “The origin glass collection” for the bottles and the matching pieces from which they are sourced, the beautiful floor tiles from different countries that could be displayed together to note their differences in style and age, shells and so many other treasures collected by beachcombers from around the world.
And of course we will have a shop, to highlight the beauty of the artisans who create gorgeous work using gifts from the sea.
The future location of the center will be on the shores of the Chesapeake Bay, near St Michaels Maryland with its fabulous restaurants and shopping and the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, the location of the Eastern Shore Sea Glass Festival, which has become the largest in the U.S.
But we need your help. The International Beachcombing Center needs funding to open the doors and stay open. Founded as The Sea Glass Center, we do have 501c3 nonprofit status, which means your donation is tax deductible and we are happy to provide you with a receipt letter for your tax records, including donations made to the GoFundMe campaign we have launched. There are other ways you can help too. If you would like to volunteer, please let us know! We can’t open unless we secure this funding.
If you would like to contact us for details, just let me know- you can email me at info@thebeachcombingcenter.org. We are a team of beachcombers from around the world- let’s all work together to make this place the best it can be; it’s here for all of us! Join me and let’s make this dream a reality!
Meet our Board- special thanks to these amazing partners:
Our Board of Directors includes Kim Hannon, President of the North American Sea Glass Association and the St. Michaels Business Association and owner of Ophiuroidea, Kirsti Scott, Publisher of Beachcombing Magazine owner of Etched by the Sea and newest board member of the North American Sea Glass Association, Richard LaMotte, founder of the North American Sea Glass Association and author of Pure Sea Glass, and Danielle Perrault, Founder of The Sea Glass Center and owner of The Deep Blue in Kennebunk Maine.