Welch sisters create non-profit organization to raise money for turtle sanctuaries

By Bella Macleod

Executive Features Editor

The Welch sisters share a love for marine life. Together, they established a local non-profit organization, Hermosa Tortuga, in an effort to prevent the decline of the sea turtle populations.

Seniors Maya and Thea Welch and sophomore Ella Welch hope to spread the importance of their cause through beach cleanups. They also raise money at fairs in order to contribute necessary supplies for the turtle sanctuaries located in Cuba.

“Over the years, we’ve visited turtle sanctuaries on vacation and found out that most of them needed all new resources and didn’t have the means to buy them,” Thea said. “We thought that we could really help make a difference there, so it was something that we started working on right away.”

The Welch sisters publicly debuted Hermosa Tortuga at a Fiesta Hermosa booth during Labor Day weekend. They sold shirts, tote bags, hats, water bottles and sweatshirts branded with the Hermosa Tortuga logo. They also sold a variety of bracelets, silver necklaces and keychains. All of the profits were donated to turtle sanctuaries. 

“[Fiesta Hermosa] went really well; we had a great location this year, so there was a lot of people walking past [our booth],” Thea said. “We got to talk with so many of the people who wanted to be involved with our cause”.

The sisters also sold sponsorships for $100 at Fiesta Hermosa, which allows the turtles to incubate, hatch and be released to the ocean. These turtles were originally located in areas where they could potentially be trampled by tourists or flooded by water, but these sanctuaries help keep them healthy and safe. 

“We get to reach out and talk to so many people about our cause, and it’s very impactful,” Thea said. “Talking to someone, person to person, is great since they really get to know why our cause is so important and what would happen if sea turtles didn’t exist.”

Hermosa Tortuga also collaborated with Bracelets for Me, which makes beaded bracelets and donates its profits to the Open Medicine Foundation, an organization supporting medical research to improve health-care for patients suffering from chronic and complex diseases. Hermosa Tortuga has been selling their bracelets with turtles on them and splitting the profit with Bracelets for Me. 

“[Bracelets for Me] saw what we were doing with Hermosa Tortuga and immediately messaged us,” Thea said. “[The bracelets] have been really popular and every time we bring them back, they sell out right away, so [Bracelets for Me] is currently making 20 more bracelets for us.”

On June 2, Hermosa Tortuga held a beach cleanup on the north side of the Manhattan Beach pier and is currently planning to host additional beach clean-ups this school year. 

“There aren’t any turtles here in the South bay, so we did a big cleanup to just clean up the community here,” Thea said. “Single use plastics not only harm turtles, but all marine life, and could potentially choke them and pollute their environment, so doing those beach cleanups here are very helpful for everyone.”