Lifeguard Letter 2025
Dear Costa Ballena community,
This has been a challenging year for our program, but with the help of some new energetic volunteers and board members that have been with us for over 20 yeas we have not only survived but have laid out a pathway to a future with more Lifeguards.
Our program would not have stayed afloat without the help of our community members, both individuals and businesses. We have had some very successful and very fun fundraisers in 2024 including the Eco Beer Fest at Fuego Brewery, the Semana Santa Classic surf contest, the Fourth of July River Float and Party, and a private dinner hosted by El Cocodrilo restaurant in Villa Rio Mar.
We have also been blessed for the last three years with a $30,000 grant from the Five Together Foundation. The first year we used it to reconstruct the Lifeguard tower in Playa Hermosa, but for the last two years we needed those funds in order to pay the salaries for the four lifeguards that we have fully employed and our one part-time guard.
The shortfall in funding is because from 2019 to 2023 we were funded by the municipality. They gave us $67,000 each year to cover the salaries of the Lifeguards and our administrator. Unfortunately they stopped funding in 2024 and in 2025 they have yet to award a contract, even though they have the money in their budget to pay for a lifeguard program. This is shameful since because of the shortfall in funds there have been drownings at Playa Hermosa and at Playa Dominical, both when lifeguards were not on duty. We cannot let this continue. We need to push the municipality to award a contract and pay to protect their citizens and the tourists that support the local economy.
Until the contract is awarded we are relying solely on funding from the community. Both large hotels and private individuals have sent us checks, made bank transfers, donated hotel stays and meals to our instructors, and also volunteered their time. They know that this program is vital for our beaches. We need to continue funding these efforts not just through fundraisers, but through our Dollar a Day program created by Richard Abraham, one of our biggest supporters over the lifetime of the program. He would say – “If you can buy a cup of coffee a day, then you can support our lifeguards.”
Right now we have only 30 businesses signed up and there are over 1000 businesses in the area. If only a fraction of them would donate to the Dollar a Day program we could fund the entire program without the help of the government.
We know the future of our lifeguard program rests in the youth of the Costa Ballena community. Kids that grow up swimming and surfing on these beaches learn to understand the powerful currents and where it can be dangerous to go into the ocean. They will have the experience to guide beachgoers to safe areas of the beach and could reach rescue victims the quickest.
We want to hire an additional member of our team that will not only be the lifeguard captain, but can also provide training and instructions for potential lifeguards. They will help create a volunteer lifeguard program so that on busy weekends we can have volunteers walking the beach informing swimmers of dangerous rip currents. There will also be a Junior Lifeguard Program for the local youth. Both groups will receive first aid and CPR training, plus participate in beach activities relating to ocean rescues.
I dream of a future where there are lifeguards on the beaches from Parrita to Playa Tortuga, a network of volunteers that support them, and a business community that funds them. It is up to us now to make this dream come true.
lifeguardscostaballena.com/donate