Crabbin for a Cure Wrap-Up!

Crabbin for a Cure

 

The weather outside may have been frightful but the positive vibes and energy inside Mud City Crab House on Wednesday night were electric for our 4th Annual Crabbin for a Cure to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation.

We need to start with our hosts, owners and friends of Mud City Crab House: Melanie & Eric Magaziner and Ginna, Brianna & Bob Nugent. Our friendship with this crew started almost 25 years ago and was reignited during the 2011 Jetty Coquina Jam. They have been faithful supporters of the Foundation since day one and are responsible for our second longest running event with Crabbin for a Cure. Melanie Magaziner is going on her 3rd year as Vice President of David’s Dream & Believe and we appreciate the combined efforts from Melanie and Eric. Simply put, we would not have been able to assist the amount of families we have in the past 3.5 years without their support and friendship.

The Staff at Mud City Crab House is FAMILY! There are many reasons for the long waits to eat at this local landmark since the Magaziner and Nugent families opened the doors. However, we believe the amazing staff is tied at the top of that list with the incredible food. This amazing staff has volunteered their time and donated their tips back to the Foundation every year!

Our 4th Annual Crabbin for a Cure did not have an auction this year and there was a very good reason for that. Crabbin for a Cure has been a locals event since year one. It allows for local business owners and families to join together for a relaxing dinner with amazing friends after a long and very busy summer.  We value and appreciate the continued efforts throughout the year from those same local businesses and local families that allow us to carry out the mission of the Foundation. We want our supporters to know you mean the world to us!

Crabbin for Cure was created during a lunch meeting between Melanie, Eric, David and Jeremy from Jetty. We want to thank all of our sponsors starting with our longest local sponsor Jetty. Thank you: Jackie & Bill McCabe, Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center, Sally’s Shrimp & Seafood, Panzone’s Pizza, Reynolds Landscaping, Anderson Insurance Agency, Thomas V Massa DMD & Associates, Walt McCollum Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, Price Home Group, Art Puzziferro Builder, The Ruemeli Family, Ann Coen Photography, Speakeasy Pizzeria, Tuckerton Lumber Co. and Potts Excavating!

A special thank you to Kerry Beetel and his students from Piece of the Puzzle for making and donating the yummy homemade ice cream for dessert!

See you next year!

Survival of the Mills presented by Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center

Survival of the Mills
Survival of the Mills

It’s always difficult to come up with the words to describe a new event because you cannot just say, “You had to be there.” It feels like we’ve been saying that a lot lately with last weekend’s Sing for Hope and now today’s Survival of the Mills! We try to maintain a healthy balance of diverse events so there is something for everybody while not wearing out our welcome. We are always mindful that your support comes directly from your hard work and we NEVER take that for granted!

Survival of the Mills was created by my friend and our race director Ross Reynolds. Ross and I had a conversation about doing an event together about a year ago when I saw Ross and his wife Marissa having dinner at Mud City Crab House. 12 months of planning and hard work by Ross resulted in an amazing day for the participants. Ross worked so hard on every aspect of this event to ensure it ran smoothly, was challenging and safe for everybody, and the participants all had fun. Mission accomplished! Thank you so much Ross!

However, Ross and I both know that an event like this one does not just happen without the incredible efforts from a Team of Volunteers! Since our inception as a Foundation in 2010, we have maintained that our David’s Dream & Believe volunteers are simply the best and today only confirmed that fact. Not only do we preach to the public that we have the best volunteers but we practice what we preach. President Tim Hall volunteered all weekend helping with set-up and breakdown in between competing and placing 16th overall in the triathlon! Our secretary Kelly Powers competed in the 5K today! Our event Directors and Survival of the Mills Sponsor Kristin Panzone and Jillian Elsasser (Panzone’s Pizza) and communications Director Danielle Corso managed the cycling turnarounds! Our youth Director and Main Event Sponsor Kim Manzella (Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center) and her family managed the water stations! Our Directors serve the Foundation on a completely volunteer basis and their efforts are extraordinary on a daily basis not just event days! Thank you!

Thank you to our youth group Generation Dream families that manned the water stations & managed some of the race logistics for us today! We appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to support the Foundation & we love the kids who continue to “Pay it Forward!”

A special thank you to Ross’s wife Marissa for all her efforts supporting today’s event. Thank you to Tommy Craig for assisting Ross with all the race set-up and logistics.  Thank you to our sponsors for their ongoing generosity and to Fusaro’s for the incredible after-race spread which so many participants raved about.  A special thanks to our host, Wells Mill County Park and their staff, who delivered an incredible experience taking us off the beaten path of typical triathlons, duathlons, and 5k races.

Thank you to all the participants for competing today! We heard from cancer survivors participating in the event throughout the day and your courage inspires us!

The end result of a successful race is that our patients will be the ultimate winners! Thank you from all of us at David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation and see you next year!

 

 “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have!”

Crabbin For A Cure presented by Mud City Crab House!

Crabbin For A Cure
Crabbin For A Cure

 

 

 

Our last major event for 2014 is Crabbin for a Cure at Mud City Crab House on Wednesday October 22nd. It’s one of our two oldest events along with Jetty’s Coquina Jam. We will be holding a special 50/50 raffle at each seating but no auction this year. We appreciate EVERYTHING our auction gift donors/sponsors do for us throughout the year and we never take your efforts for granted. We are asking you to join us for a relaxing evening of amazing food, cocktails and great friends with the best staff this side of the Mississippi! Please contact melanie@mudcitycrabhouse.com to reserve your sponsorship or seats today.

 

Thank you!

 

 

Sing For Hope: An All-Star concert to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation!

SING FOR HOPE
SING FOR HOPE

Cara Samantha created Sing For Hope as a way to honor her cousin Jamie who passed away from breast cancer last year. She also wanted to find a way to support so many families battling cancer today, including her cousin and Jamie’s brother Brian who was diagnosed with leukemia 1 month after Jamie’s funeral. Cara saw first-hand, the positive impact of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation within her own family. Cara generated light for others out of her own personal pain and Sing For Hope was born!

Cara invited all of us on Sunday October 5th to Toshi’s Living Room & Penthouse inside The Flatiron Hotel on Broadway in NYC for an afternoon of music, hope and love! The Foundation has never had an event outside of NJ, so we were looking forward to visiting NYC! Cara gathered together what can only be described as some of the most amazing Singer/Songwriters, Broadway Stars and Musicians in the NYC area. Their musical abilities were only outmatched by their beautiful hearts! Almost every artist hit the stage with their own heartfelt story of how cancer has affected them! Cancer does not discriminate! Cara, the musicians, the staff at Toshi’s and all the guests who attended Sing For Hope became an active participant in the mission of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation yesterday. We are all a part of creating a ripple of kindness, hope and love for our families who have lost somebody to this deadly disease and all our families living with cancer today! Thank you for BELIEVING in our DREAM!

Thank you to our host and incredible staff at Toshi’s Living Room & Penthouse inside The Flatiron Hotel.

Thank you to the most amazing group of artists who freely gave their time, talents and hearts to the cause. In order of appearance: Jennifer Sanchez, Andrew Mancilla, Tim Kubart, Lawrence Neals, Melissa Kerry Guttman, Shira Elias, J.D. Desharnais, Cara Samantha, Joline Mujica, Xavier Cano, Sarah Corey, Rebecca Flanders, Shayne Kennon, Jenna Miller, Adam Rennie, Anne Markt, Lynne Rachel Abeles, Michael Deleget, Jonathan Reid Gealt, Casey Erin Clark, Ruark Downey, Blaise Downey, Alan Shaw, Dominick Fallacaro, Jeff Kerestes, Sam Merrick, Andrea Longato and Mark Fifer!

A very special thank you to Cara for creating and bringing Sing For Hope to life and thank you to her husband Marc, Nikki, Heather & Elizabeth for managing the logistics of the entire day!