Some are dedicated to loved ones. Some are dedicated to friends. And some are dedicated to organizations in Dunedin.

Regardless of who they're named after, about 80 benches are sprinkled across the Dunedin Causeway, and the Dunedin Beach Civic Association wants to make their stories available.

Thanks to the organization, residents will soon be able to view a detailed map that includes a picture of where each bench is located, who it's dedicated to and who donated it.

Kevin Karcher, bench coordinator for the association, says the group is creating the map so that people who have donated causeway benches but who don't live in the Dunedin area can see where the benches are located.

"It's more for the people who have donated benches and their family," Karcher said. "It's so easy in this day and age to produce that sort of thing that there's no reason not to." 

The map will be posted on the Dunedin Beach Civic Association's website, which is currently being designed by AdSharp Advertising, a Dunedin Web design company. Karcher says the map will allow people who have donated benches to find their benches and view pictures of them. 

"We're really at the beginning as far as putting our ideas together," he said. 

There are currently 76 benches on the causeway, 58 of which are located on the southern side. Karcher says that all future donated benches will be placed on the northern side. 

The City of Dunedin's parks and recreation department is responsible for the construction and the general maintenance of the causeway benches, which are basic wooden-on-metal seats and include plaques with names.

The cost to donate a bench is about $350. All money for the benches goes toward their construction; the Dunedin Beach Civic Association does not receive any proceeds. The causeway bench program is separate from benches found on Honeymoon Island and in downtown.

The map should be ready for bench donors and the public to view in the next couple of months, Karcher said.

"It's an investment, and it's something that they felt strongly about, and it's something that someone outside of the area should be able to take a look at," he said. 

Want to buy a bench?

To donate a wooden-on-metal causeway bench with a name plaque, email Kevin Karcher of the Dunedin Beach Civic Association at kevin.karcher@gmail.com. Each bench costs about $350.