For the past 20 years, Barbara Attard has been a loyal member of our community of Bay Sustainers – monthly donors who contribute generously each month to power our work restoring shoreline habitat, spearheading resilience projects across our region, and connecting folks of all ages and backgrounds to the Bay.
Barbara grew up in San Francisco, and attributes her lifelong love of the Bay to her upbringing. “My father built three boats and we spent weekends on the water,” she recalls. Those early days spent out on the Bay out of the Mariposa Hunters Point Yacht Club (formerly Mariposa Boat Club) sparked a lasting affection and appreciation for the Bay. To this day, she’s still out there – whaleboat rowing with the Embarcadero Rowing Club, as a member of the Bayview Boat Club, and with Save The Bay “advocating for environmental awareness”.
For Barbara, giving to Save The Bay is not only personally fulfilling, but necessary. “The mission of Save The Bay to ‘protect and restore the Bay’ in an era of climate change, growing populations, and environmental injustices, rings true to her values”. The growing threats to the Bay, including offshore drilling and plastic pollution, compel Barbara to support this work: “I feel an ethical responsibility to support the work of Save The Bay.”
Although the threats to our Bay are daunting, supporting Save The Bay presents Barbara with an opportunity to live out her values, today and in perpetuity. “The restoration work of Save the Bay will last forever. The restoration improves the beauty of the coast and cleans our Bay waters for the long term,” states Barbara. “This environmental work is sustaining and will improve our environment for generations to come. This legacy is fulfilling to me.”
Her message to anyone on the fence about monthly giving is simple: “Join me in supporting the important environmental work and legacy of Save The Bay. Our environment is being undermined and challenged on so many levels. Working together, we can increase the impact of this vital organization exponentially.”
Monthly giving is one of the simplest, most reliable means with which to generate a positive impact for the Bay. It’s easy to do, and by taking the step to join our growing community of Bay Sustainers, you’re cementing your ongoing commitment to our region, its ecosystems, and communities.
And, as Barbara reminds us – the work you’re supporting with your monthly gift will “last forever”.
What inspired you to become a Bay Sustainer?
I am a San Francisco native and have spent time on the Bay since I was a child. My Dad built 3 boats and we spent weekends on the water and were members of Mariposa Hunters Point Yacht Club. I currently row on the Bay and am a member of Bayview Boat Club and Embarcadero Rowing Club. I advocate for environmental awareness in these Bay-adjacent organizations.
What does supporting the Bay in this way mean to you?
The mission of Save the Bay “to protect and restore the Bay…in an era of climate change, growing populations and environmental injustices…” rings true to my values. The inundation of our lives (and the Bay) with plastics, and the threat of reopening our coast to oil drilling, endangers the health of the Bay and the coast. I feel an ethical responsibility to support the work of Save the Bay.
How does it feel to know that your gifts are helping ensure that the Bay’s restoration efforts continue in perpetuity?
The restoration work of Save the Bay will last forever. The restoration improves the beauty of the coast and cleans our Bay waters for the long term. This environmental work is sustaining and will improve our environment for generations to come. This legacy is fulfilling to me.
If you could tell someone considering a monthly gift one thing, what would it be?
Join me in supporting the important environmental work and legacy of Save the Bay. Our environment is being undermined and challenged on so many levels. Working together, we can increase the impact of this vital organization exponentially.
