The following story was published in The Jamestown Press on Thursday, Sept. 3 by reporter Ryan Gibbs:
For nearly three decades, a jingle on local radio has implored South County visitors to “sail away on the Block Island Ferry, take a trip back to carefree times.”
Grinnell Street’s Shahin Barzin, however, ignored that advice. He paddled there.
Barzin, an architect, rowed his kayak 12 miles across the open ocean from Point Judith to Block Island to raise money for families of frontline workers who have died from the coronavirus. The four-hour trip Aug. 24, dubbed the “Row for Good,” already has surpassed the $5,000 goal through its GoFundMe page.
“I was amazed by the support and the response of people through the fundraising,” he said, “which I think gave us all more energy to paddle and move forward.”
Kayaking to Block Island has been brewing in Barzin’s head for a few years, but it became a reality when he decided to turn the trip into a fundraiser related to COVID-19. The charity was then created to raise money for the families of essential workers, including doctors, nurses, garbage collectors and supermarket employees, who have died since the outbreak