We want to thank our very dear friend Michael John Murphy for the AMAZING pictures below from our 2014 Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure! Please follow Michael on Instagram at @michaeljohnmurphy or visit his website at www.michaeljohnmurphy.com. Thank you Michael and a special thanks to our cruisers, sponsors, auction donors, volunteers and supporters that came out to honor Frank V Panzone Jr. and raise funds for our patients affected by a cancer diagnosis!
The 6th Annual Jetty Coquina Jam has been slated for Saturday, August 2, 2014 at the Taylor Avenue beach in Beach Haven, NJ! This will be the 4th year Jetty has partnered with David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation and DD&BCF will direct 100% of the proceeds back to local breast cancer patients. ! This annual, growing event has provided over $24,000 in assistance for local breast cancer patients and their families! We welcome females of all ages to partake in the contest (download entry form below) — Please note that surfers should be of the intermediate skill level and strong swimmers (able to ride the line and complete maneuvers on their own). We also run a youth clinic after the contest (afternoon time TBD) in conjunction with Farias Surf & Sport and Jetty Team Riders Jamie Dewitt & Selena Moberly ($20 donation / on beach sign up). Lastly, we are only able to run this wonderful event with the help of our community and business partners (download a sponsorship form below). Be a part of this awesome, fundraising event – see you at the 6th Annual Jetty Coquina Jam!
*Please note that due to poor waves/weather, the contest may run on 8/3, 8/9 or 8/10 — we do our absolute best to run the event on the intended date of 8/2*
The kids from our youth sub-group of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation called Generation Dream are going to be very busy this week! Generation Dream will have a tent at the LBI Foundation’s 8th Annual Barnegat Bay Day & Go Green Expo on Wednesday from 12-4pm. Generation Dream will have sign-up sheets to join our youth group and will also have eco-friendly beverage tumblers available for a small donation so please stop by to say hello! Thursday morning at 10am, the Generation Dream team travel to our friends at Jetty for a tour of the local surf company’s facilities and to watch their Generation Dream t-shirts being printed by the Jetty crew. On Saturday July 12th, it’s our DD&BCF Night at the Lakewood Blueclaws featuring Generation Dream. We are selling individual Blueclaws tickets for $10 and our combo package includes game ticket, bus ride, food & non-alcoholic beverage for $30. The 56 person bus will be leaving Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center (102 East Bay Avenue) promptly at 4:30pm and returning immediately after the game. Please contact us directly at: generationdream2014@gmail.com to reserve your tickets and seat on the bus today!
Founder of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation Honored with Jefferson Award
Manahawkin, NJ. Friday, June 9, 2014 – David Caldarella, founder of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation, has been honored with a 2014 New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards in the category of Founders/Innovators. The Founders/Innovators category recognizes individuals whose vision and dedication result in the establishment of a new organization to meet unmet needs or new improved means of meeting those needs. Recipients of the New Jersey State Governor’s Jefferson Awards achieve measurable community impact, perform outstanding acts of public service without the expectation of recognition, serve as inspiration for others, personify dedication to a unique vision, and demonstrate tenacity of heroic proportion. Melanie Magaziner and Corinne Gray Ruff facilitated his nomination for this prestigious award, and David was selected from a pool of over 500 candidates by a panel that included The Community Foundation of New Jersey, The Star Ledger Powering NJ.com and the Governor’s Advisory Council on Volunteerism.
David was thrilled to attend the award ceremony on June 9 with his mother and girlfriend. He was touched, humbled and honored by the magnitude and meaning of the award. “Cancer gave me a purpose in life and David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation is my vehicle,” David said. He also referred to the words of Mother Theresa – “I alone cannot change the world but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” As the driving force behind the Foundation, which has donated in excess of $250,000 to cancer patients in just four years of existence, David has created ripples that have already changed the lives of many families affected by the disease.
The Jefferson Awards were created in 1972 by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Robert Taft Jr. and Sam Beard. It is America’s Highest Honor for Public Service, a Nobel Peace Prize for Public Service. To add to the enormity of the award ceremony, Sam Beard and New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Kim Guadagno spoke during the ceremony. Past national winners are a “Who’s Who” of American history makers including Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, Secretary of State Colin Powell, Barbara Bush, Senator Ted Kennedy, Oprah Winfrey, Peyton Manning and one of David’s favorite NY Yankees Mariano Rivera. In the June 15th Sunday Edition of the Star Ledger a full-page recognized the 2014 Jefferson Award Honorees with the caption “Please join the State of New Jersey, the White House and the United States Senate in congratulating these outstanding individuals for their remarkable volunteer achievements.” The community applauds David as a champion for cancer patients, and as a Jefferson Award recipient.
About David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation
David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises funds to provide financial assistance and services to families primarily in New Jersey affected by a cancer diagnosis. David Caldarella, founder and Stage IV cancer survivor, established David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation in 2010. The Foundation has committed all of its resources to assisting the community in the fight against cancer, and holds many events throughout the year to raise funds to support this cause. In addition to the Jetty Coquina Jam – an all-female surf contest on LBI where 100% of the proceeds are directed back to local breast cancer patients, DDBCF holds the “Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin’ for a Cure” presented by Panzone’s Pizza & Pasta, “Crabbin’ for a Cure” presented by Mud City Crab House and the “Island Gala & Casino Night” presented by the Sea Shell Resort Resort & Beach Club. The foundation also participates in Chowderfest and various other community festivals. To date, the Foundation has donated over $250,000 to families affected by a cancer diagnosis.
A few weeks ago, we sent an urgent S.O.S. to our supporters asking for help with one of our patients struggling with the burdens of a cancer diagnosis from our local hospital Southern Ocean Medical Center. That call was answered within 24 hours by our friends the Reynolds family who own Reynolds Garden Shop & Landscaping in Manahawkin. Our patient is on a very low fixed income per month and was due to unforeseen circumstances going to be without a place to live starting July 1st. David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation was not going to let this happen and the Reynolds family partnered with us on this new mission. We also worked very closely with the nurse navigators at Southern Ocean Medical Center. The end result of meetings with the nurse navigators, multiple meetings with the Reynolds family usually at 5am, the use of a Reynolds box truck, Reynolds crew for a day and one of our directors assisting us last Saturday was our patient has a safe and comfortable home! This will give her time to focus on healing and allow her time to look for a more long-term living arrangement! We are blessed to work alongside so many amazing families and local businesses dedicated to serving our community. We could not have pulled off this major undertaking without the support from the Reynolds family!
THANK YOU REYNOLDS FAMILY!
It’s time for the 2nd Annual Island Gala & Casino Night presented by Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club in Beach Haven, New Jersey on Friday August 8th. This year we are introducing for the first time: “David’s Dream and Believe Humanitarian of the Year Award!” This award recognizes individuals who exhibit outstanding dedication to the fundamental mission of the Foundation, “Saving Lives by Fighting Cancer Together,” and who also exhibit an exemplary commitment to serving others in the community! We are honored to name Melanie & Eric Magaziner as the first recipients of this award and we look forward to many years ahead of serving alongside each other in our community. Congratulations Melanie & Eric!
The event will take place from 7 pm until midnight. Tickets are $150.00 per person and dress is cocktail attire. The night will include: 3 Hour Top Shelf Open Bar, Food, Live Music, Dancing, Auction, Casino & a Few Surprises!This event at the Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club was the talk of the town last summer and will sell out quickly! We do have a limited number of sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact David Caldarella to reserve your tickets or sponsorship level at: david@davidsdreamandbelieve.org or (609) 548-3382.
