We want to take a minute to thank some of our Advisory Board members who recently stepped down after their service. Our Advisory Board members assist with fundraising campaigns and raise awareness for David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation’s Mission of Hope for families battling a cancer diagnosis.
Since our inception in 2011, DDBCF has been able to provide in excess of $1.6 Million Dollars to 1,800+ families battling a cancer diagnosis and that is not possible without the volunteerism of our Board of Directors, Patient Advocates and Advisory Board THANK YOU ALL!
Tuesday October 11, 2016 was a very special day at The Inaugural Frank A. Cosimano Memorial Golf classic to benefit: David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation. The Cosimano and Caldarella families have a friendship that spans decades. 90 Golfers and 140 dinner guests joined us at White Beeches Golf & Country Club to honor Mr. Frank A. Cosimano while “Paying it Forward” in Mr. Cosimano’s name. The end result was an incredible $30,500.66 raised for our families battling a cancer diagnosis!
A Huge Thank You to Jason Cosimano, Kim Cosimano and Mrs. Angela Cosimano for serving as Co-Chairs for this event. Our newest Director, Jason Cosimano is a welcome addition to the DDBCF team and our families battling a cancer diagnosis will benefit greatly from Jason’s commitment to serve on the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Thank you to Jason’s wife Dorothy for her support behind the scenes.
Thank you to our Golf Committee: Dr. Robert Siconolfi, Mr. Leonard Kaiser, Mr. Stephen P. Sinisi Esq., Mr. Michael Accomando, Mr. Todd Accomando, Mrs. Jaqueline Ceccarelli-Komsa, Mr. Ed Komsa, Mrs. Lauren Komsa Curtis, Mr. John Curtis and Mrs. Christina Ulmer. We could not have coordinated this event without the support, time and efforts of the Golf Committee.
Thank you to Greg Porcino from Golf Event Management. Greg and David Caldarella started to discuss the possibility of a golf event to honor Frank A. Cosimano in late 2015 before David brought the idea to Jason, Kim and Mrs. Cosimano. Greg has played a pivotal role in bringing his expertise to this first time event.
Thank you to the incredible staff at White Beeches Golf & Country Club especially: Manny Gonzalez, Jeff Cincotta, Bryan Romagnol, Anthony Addas and long-time friends of the Cosimano and Caldarella families: Lauren McGovern and Jim McGovern.
Thank you to our Emcee Extraordinaire, James Donahower. Thank you to Tony Coon from Darn Swell Media for video and Ryan Johnson from Ryan Johnson Photography for our photo’s.
Thank you to our 90 golfers and 140 dinner guests for taking time out of your busy lives to spend it with us to support our families battling a cancer diagnosis. Congratulations to Jeremy DeFilippis, Cory Higgins and Jeff Ervin for winning First Place in the scramble. We hope everybody enjoyed themselves and hope to see you next year.
We are often reminded that our volunteers are the best in the land and this day was no different. Thank you to Board of Director Dani Corso for not only sponsoring the event through her company Volatile Media Management but for volunteering with her assistant Paula Blase from 9am to 9pm. They were joined by Carmen Malatino who was the first person on site the day of the event and last to leave with Co-Founder David Caldarella at the end of the evening. Carmen played a critical role in establishing David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation 6 years ago and has a friendship with David for close to 40 years. Our volunteers devote their time on a 100% volunteer basis and we are so grateful for their support!
We are beyond excited for the 4th Annual Island Gala to benefit: David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation at the Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club on Friday August 5th, 2016. This year’s theme is “Hope Under The Stars!” Our patients and families affected by a cancer diagnosis inspire us on a daily basis. This year’s Gala will be very special as we introduce some of our brand new Directors of Patient Advocacy. This is a group of individuals directly affected by a cancer diagnosis and positively impacted by the support from David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation.
The beautiful Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club is once again the venue for this year’s Gala. The Hughes Family and staff treat this event as if it were a special event for a family member. We appreciate their continued support and friendship.
Our entertainment lineup for the 4th Annual Island Gala is second to none! We met American Idol Alum Cara Samantha a few years ago as a result of her cousin Jamie being diagnosed with cancer. Unfortunately, Jamie eventually lost her courageous battle with cancer. Cara will be performing during cocktail hour and under the stars in our outside “Hope Tiki Garden” too. A brief opening ceremony will take place after cocktail hour. Then everybody should get ready to dance the night away to Philadelphia’s High-Energy Seven Piece Band: Love 77. The members of LOVE 77 are motivated by the mission of the Foundation and ready to bring the house down with some incredible Live Music! Our favorite Emcee, Live Auctioneer and Friend: James Donahower is back to host the entire evening for us this year.
We want to thank our friends at Reynolds Landscaping for their continued support and efforts supporting this special event.
Please join us on Friday August 5th, 2016 at the Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club. Individual tickets will go on sale shortly for $250.00pp. Event will take place from 7pm-midnight. Live Music, Hors D’Ourves, Dinner and 3 Hour Top Shelf Open Bar. (Cocktail Attire)
Invites have been mailed to last year’s guests and the easiest way to secure your ticket for the 4th Annual Island Gala is to reserve your sponsorship today. You can do so by visiting our website at www.davidsdreamandbelieve.org, click the Donate tab, under donation type click (enter your own donation amount)(enter sponsorship level amount), under donation events click Island Gala in the drop down. You can also download form attached below. Make checks payable to DDBCF, 364 North Main Street, Suite 10D, Manahawkin, NJ 08050. Thank you!
We held our 3rd Annual Island Gala “A Night on the Boardwalk”on Friday August 14th and it proved to be our most successful fundraiser to date with a NET of $94,577.43! Our Mega 50/50 Raffle Winners were Angela Monafo and Taryn Parascand (Congratulations!) but there’s no doubt that the real winners of the night were our patients and families affected by a cancer diagnosis! Thank you.
We do need to thank a few people that were instrumental in making our 3rd Annual Island Gala possible. That starts with our executive committee in charge of planning and sponsoring various aspects of this year’s event. The Reynolds Family, Reynolds Landscaping & Garden Shop, Steber Family, McCabe Family, Catherine Deely and Board of Director Members Kim Manzella & Dani Corso. This group started its’ planning/management efforts in January 2015 and continued right up until the last item was packed up around 2:00am Saturday morning! It takes a monumental effort from a dedicated team to pull off an event like this one and this group was simply amazing!
Our Host Venue for the 3rd year in a row was our friends at the Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club! Tom Hughes, Jaimee Boyle and Brittany Solon treat the entire planning process, meetings and night of the event as if it was a special party for a family member and for that we are eternally grateful. The resort is absolutely beautiful and the incredible staff make all of our guests feel like VIP’s!
Our sponsors play a critical role in the overall success of the Foundation being able to answer the increased number of patient requests. Thank you to our Cyclone $5,000.00 Sponsors: Reynolds Landscaping, Steber Family, McCabe Family, Informed Mortgage andAllied World Assurance Company. Reynolds Landscaping and the Steber family were also responsible for sponsoring this year’s amazing band Monte Carlo from Philadelphia. Thank you to our Himalayan $2,500.00 Sponsor: D. Finelli Construction and Congratulations to Dave and Laurie on the birth of their baby girl Lyla Marie. Thank you to our Carousel $1,000.00 Sponsors: Anderson Insurance Agency, G. Anderson Agency, Brandon Systems, Cosimano Family, Shannon Keyes DMD andZelus Consulting Group LLC.
Our Auctions are always top notch thanks to the efforts of Cathy Deely, Kim Manzella, Dani Corso, Sophia Steber, the Reynolds Family (Peg, Katie & Ashley) and our extremely generous local businesses that want to participate in our events. A special thanks to Kyle Baddorf Executive Chef at Garces Trading Co. for not only producing one very successful auction dinner but accepting to do 3 of them!!!
We would not be able to hold our events were it not for the tremendous support from our volunteers throughout the year especially at this Goliath of an event. A special thanks to Tony Coon, Ryan Johnson, John Manzella, Nick Staub, Lisa AndersonandJames Donahower.
Our guests (former and new) and everybody listed above demonstrated a genuine commitment to the mission of the Foundation and generosity of spirit that could only be described as inspirational! Our team from DDBCF walked away from this year’s Island Gala knowing that our Beacon of Hope will shine a little brighter for our patients/families affected by a cancer diagnosis thanks to all of you!
Mark your calendars now for the 4th Annual Island Gala on Friday August 5th 2016!
