On the morning of September 9th, the executive director of B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation Institute woke up to find its concession trailer missing from the side yard of her home after bringing it from the Haulover Beach for maintenance, repair and cleaning. B.E.A.C.H.E.S. stored its equipment, supplies and much of its merchandise in its cargo trailer. Without this trailer, it’s out of business.
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation (Beach Education Advocates for Culture, Heath, Environment and Safety) is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit has operated its mini “BeachMall” concession since 2005 in the chickee hut at the main entrance to Haulover’s clothing optional beach – a Miami-Dade regional beach-park in northern Miami Beach. B.E.A.C.H.E.S. operates under the Program Partnership Agreement with Miami-Dade Parks & Recreation exclusively for nonprofits.
The proceeds of selling ice cream, fresh fruit salads, smoothies, and beach-related merchandise are used to make many of the capital improvements and amenities at Haulover Beach for the public’s benefit. B.E.A.C.H.E.S.’ reputation of targeting its efforts to help expand our physically challenged residents ability to enjoy the beach is without question. It purchased electric beach wheelchairs, erected chickee huts for needed shade, built a beachside shower, and organizes volunteers to do beach clean-ups, repairs, maintenance, and painting.
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. recruits and manages the successful 16 year old all-volunteer Haulover Beach Ambassador Program that daily assists park staff to lessen their burden, by educating beachgoers and local tourists while providing environmental, safety, health awareness programs and information. B.E.A.C.H.E.S.’ works with its sister organization, South Florida Free Beaches, to organize and conduct regular skin cancer screenings with medical doctors on the beach blood drives, toy drives, cell phone drives for abused women, food and even clothing drives – marketing to the users of Haulover Beach.
Having a concession on the clothing optional beach is integral to B.E.A.C.H.E.S. mission and doing so exposes its operation to the 1.3 million annual visitors. B.E.A.C.H.E.S. also uses donations from individuals and other naturist beach groups to be proactive in creating materials and educating government officials and lawmakers about the positive cultural, health, and financial benefits of social nude recreation and designated clothing optional beaches – Haulover’s naturist tourists bring 600-800 million dollars annually to this community. This type of information has proven to be very helpful to local businesses and in keeping anti-nudity legislation from being passed locally and on a state level.
B.E.A.C.H.E.S. is the brainchild of Shirley Mason, who is also its founder. Known as the “Mother of Haulover Beach” because she spearheaded creating the clothing optional area of Haulover Beach in the early 1990’s — Shirley continues to volunteer as its executive director and B.E.A.C.H.E.S.’ general manager for the ‘BeachMall’ on Haulover.
“There’s no doubt this loss is a major set-back and has presented an economic crisis for B.E.A.C.H.E.S…But with every crisis, there’s opportunity. This is an opportunity to make more people who use the beach, aware of what the years of hard work and sacrifice is worth and how they have benefited,” states Shirley Mason.
“Everything we, as organized naturists need, in resources, skills and connections, we have in the people that enjoy Haulover’s clothing optional beach – They just need to know that they’re needed and have something worthwhile to contribute…I also see this as an opportunity for B.E.A.C.H.E.S. to accelerate its mission and continue to prove to local government, the business and tourism community, that naturists are a loyal and responsible market — not to be ignored, but respected, appreciated, and welcomed”, she adds.
This past July, B.E.A.C.H.E.S. Foundation kicked off its 2008-09 Haulover Capital Improvement and Programming Campaign during a special event celebrating the 17th anniversary of establishing Haulover’s clothing optional beach. The goal is to raise $100,000 to do the following:
Hire a full-time grant writer to augment B.E.A.C.H.E.S. educational programming and capital improvement projects;
Repair thatched roofs of existing chickee huts;
Purchase two additional electric beach wheelchairs and a solar-powered storage cargo trailer so B.E.A.C.H.E.S. can manage and maintain chairs for Haulover’s clothing optional section;
Hire a person to work with the handicapped and help with existing beach wheelchairs;
Purchase a golf cart to transport handicapped from parking lots to wheelchairs or beach;
Build several additional chickee (tiki) huts;
Recruit, conduct background checks and train additional Haulover Beach Ambassadors
“Time is of the essence. Until we can get our resource base restored, we will lose our small trained staff; our most valuable asset…The Capital Improvement and Programming Campaign is on indefinite hold,” states Shirley Mason.
“B.E.A.C.H.E.S. has been a self-sufficient grass-roots effort, working to earn our keep while creating a better safer environment for everyone to enjoy…Now we are asking for the public’s help in getting back on our feet…We’re seeking the equivalent of a financial ‘fishing pole’ and we will fulfill mission,” Mason concludes.
