Please visit our friends in the Black-eyed Susans Ice Cream Truck at tomorrow night’s summer concert with “Verdict” in Sunset Park, Harvey Cedars at 7pm and Monday night’s summer concert with “No Discipline” on 9th & 10th Street on the Bay at 7pm.
50% of the proceeds will be donated directly to local 19 month old Elena Michelle! Thank you Ashley & Chris!!!
It’s obvious that Mother Nature and David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation (DD&BCF) need to have a sit-down to iron out our differences. However the rain, wind, flooding and rough ocean didn’t stop the positive vibes emanating from the 6th Annual Jetty Coquina Jam yesterday! We had an amazing turnout and cannot thank everybody enough for their support!
A few special thanks need to be handed out and it has to start with Chief Executive Officer from Jetty Jeremy DeFilippis. Jeremy has been linked to DD&BCF from day one and Jeremy served on the Board of Directors for 3+ years. His tireless efforts on the Coquina Jam are geared towards not only running a surf contest on LBI that spotlights incredibly talented female surfers and local businesses but also raises money for a Foundation near and dear to his heart that directs the donations back to local breast cancer patients in need. We thank Jeremy and the entire Jetty ownership team for being committed to our partnership in the Coquina Jam. We look forward to many years working together for the benefit of our local breast cancer patients!
Dani Corso, Mike Eiche and the Jetty Interns deserve special thanks as well. Dani handled doubly duty for managing tasks including social media, email blasts, marketing, sponsors and various other aspects for this event for both Jetty and DD&BCF. Her commitment and dedication to both organizations are a credit to her unfailing Pay it Forward Spirit! Many of you may not know the name Mike Eiche from Jetty but you should – Eiche is the guy always behind the scenes getting the job done. Whether its printing hurricane sandy relief shirts for 16 hours a day or setting up/breaking down Coquina Jam – Eiche will always be there getting the job done! Thanks to the Jetty Interns for braving the elements and supporting the cause. Thank you to Super Volunteer Matt Mancini for braving the elements from start to finish!
Thanks to Jon Coen for handling the mic duties all day long in very difficult conditions. I know we all look forward to hearing Jon narrate the Coquina Jam Event each year! Thank you to our Judges and support staff that manages the event for us! A special thanks to Randy Budd & Bill Machotka! We want to thank Mark Keeler from MK Productions for giving us sound all day.
Thanks to our amazing Sponsors and Beach Vendors! We have to mention those beach vendors that braved the weather yesterday: Liquid Bliss Yoga/Eden Eco, Farias Surf & Sport, Rodeo Bird, Living on the Veg, El Swell, Black Whale, Naked Juice and Red Bull!
Thank you to the Amazing and Incredibly Talented Female Surfers that came from as far as Costa Rica and as close as our event home in Beach Haven, NJ to participate in our 6th Annual Jetty Coquina Jam. These women hold a special place in our hearts because they represent the beautiful fighting spirit of our female patients battling a breast cancer diagnosis!
A special thanks to our Generation Dream Team that manned the DD&BCF tent today selling pretzels, water and Generation Dream shirts! Thanks to our director Kim Manzella for managing the tent for us today with Generation Dream. Thank you to Brie Fagan for bringing some of her beautiful handmade jewelry and flower crowns from her company The Wandering Gypsea to sell under our tent!
Last but certainly not least, A Very Special Thanks to our Supporters who continue to amaze us on a daily basis! You battled floods, traffic, rain, and chilly temps – all for the benefit of our local families battling a breast cancer diagnosis. Our patients currently fighting this horrible disease and those we have lost give us our daily inspiration. Our supporters give us the fuel to continue our mission.
Thank you to everybody that participated in the 6th Annual Jetty Coquina Jam from all of us at David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation! See you next year!
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.
Our first ever community-wide Dine to Donate will take place on Monday June 30th! This particular Dine to Donate is a unique event that allows David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation to ask community members to support the businesses that generously support the Foundation throughout the year while raising donations for our patients affected by a cancer diagnosis. Participating restaurants have committed to a flat donation or % of their register sales throughout the June 30th business day. Please use #dreamtodonate when visiting the participating restaurants and tag @davidsdreamandbelieve on Instagram and tag pictures to our Facebook page David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation.
Please support the following amazing restaurants:
Bagel Shack, Barry’s Do Me A Flavor, Bisque, Black-eyed Susan’s Café’, Bowker’s South Beach Grill, TGI Friday’s, The Gables, Howard’s Restaurant, Joe Pop’s Shore Bar & Restaurant, Joey’s Pizza & Pasta, LBI Pancake House, Lefty’s Tavern, Living on the Veg, Mud City Crab House, Panzone’s Pizza, Panzone’s Pizza & Pasta, Port Hole Cafe’, Sandbox Cafe’, Scojo’s Restaurant, Sea Shell Resort & Beach Club, Schwee Tea Co., Shore Fire Grille and Terrace Tavern.
Please join us Wednesday June 25th at the Stockton Seaview Hotel and Golf Club for the 24th Annual Southern Ocean Medical Center Foundation Invitational Golf and Tennis Outing. All proceeds benefit SOMC. As a new tradition this year, SOMC will be presenting the Community Health & Wellness Award! This award is designed to recognize an individual or an organization who has exhibited an exemplary commitment to the health and wellness of the community by addressing a service or program that brings health, healing or hope to those impacted by a medical condition. We are pleased to announce that David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation is the 2014 recipient!
We want to thank our sponsors, donors, volunteers and most importantly the patients/families battling a cancer diagnosis who inspire us on a daily basis with their courage, grace and love!
SOMCF Invitational Sponsorship Form
