The Port Washington community made a splash Saturday, July 19, as they gathered in their kayaks for a race in the Manhasset Bay to support their hamlet.
Paddle for Port is one of the events hosted by the Port Washington Community Chest, which has been a staple in the community for about 75 years. The race is one of the organization’s events to fundraise for grants it distributes to nonprofits across Port Washington.
This is just such an incredible, local, fun event,” said Community Chest Executive Director Bobby Keller. “It’s really just a great family day out on the water.”
The Port Washington Community Chest operates under the motto “the people of Port helping the people of Port,” and Keller said this stands true for the annual Paddle for Port event.
About 50 people participated in the race this year, with many of them ending their bay tour at the town dock with a mixture of elation and exhaustion on their faces. Many paddled in with smiles across their faces.
“There are very few places like Port Washington where people care so much about the community that they live in,” Keller said.
Longtime Port Washington resident Joel Ziev started Paddle for Port about 18 years ago when he was serving as chair of the Port Washington Community Chest.
Ziev said that while Port Washington has changed over the years, seeing the event persist to this day and continuing to support his community was “phenomenal.”
Keller said the turnout for Saturday’s event was another example of the organization’s mission and proof of the care Port Washington has. He said being a part of the community chest makes him feel good every day.
“I don’t think of us as much of a physical organization as much as I do of a feeling,” Keller said of the community chest. “It’s the knowledge that a group of people from a community can come together and unite behind a purpose to help their friends and neighbors. That is the essence of what we do.”
Grants the community chest has distributed in the past include supporting early childhood classes for low-income families at the Parent Resource Center, a children’s art program at the Art Guild, mental health services at the North Shore Child & Family Guidance Center and needs-based college scholarships for the Community Scholarship Fund.
This year 32 organizations will be awarded grants, Keller said, with dollar amounts ranging in the thousands.
“We try to say ‘no’ as little as possible,” Keller said.
Just in 2025 more than $350,000 has been raised by the community chest and the people of Port Washington.
Keller said the organization is nearing the time when grants will be awarded for recipients this year, which he said is his favorite time.
