6th Annual Jetty Coquina Jam Wrap-Up

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!

Southern Ocean Medical Center – 2014 Community Health & Wellness Award Recipient!

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 Letter

SOMCF Invitational Sponsorship Form

SOMC Golf Outing_6-25-2014

 

Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure Wrap-Up

THANK YOU! That is the major theme for this wrap-up of the 2nd Annual Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure! Jillian Elsasser (Panzone) got the planning started for our 2nd Annual Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure with an email after she had just left our Crabbin for a Cure event at Mud City Crab House on October 23rd. There were countless meetings, phone calls, emails and tireless efforts from so many for the better part of 7 months all to make sure our guests were going to have a good time at this year’s event but ultimately our goal is to always try to raise the highest amount of donations possible so we could support our patients/families battling a cancer diagnosis. The end result from those tireless efforts was a current donation total of $36,000+ and counting (doubling last year’s total) and a subsequent email was sent to SOMC this morning telling them we will be ready to start accepting new patient applications on June 1st. This is only made possible by the overwhelming generosity of our Committee Members, Guests, Cruisers, Sponsors, Auction Donors, Food Vendors, Musicians, Volunteers, owner Danielle Pessolano and staff from Joe Pop’s Shore Bar & Restaurant and our Main Event Sponsor Panzone’s Pizza and the Panzone Family!  We must single out a few key people and we need to start with the Panzone family: Joyce Panzone, Kristin Panzone, Jillian Elsasser (Panzone), Jillian’s husband Todd Elsasser and Kristin’s boyfriend John. All of us at David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation are honored to have Kristin and Jillian join the Board of Directors for the Foundation. We would not be able to pull off this amazing event without Kristin and Jillian’s efforts. We will just tell you that they’re both responsible for managing every aspect of this year’s event and Kristin is the creative genius behind our logo, fliers, signs, social media images and new to this year’s event our Cruisin Fashion Collection which will be up on our website in a day or two. They were the ones that purchased ALL the candy for the Panzone’s Cruisin Candy Drive for the past 6 months and anything else remotely attached to this event. A special thanks goes out to Catherine Deely for all of her efforts recruiting new sponsors, soliciting auction donors and setting up the auction at Joe Pop’s. Catherine has worked for the Panzone family since she was 14 and looked up to Frank as a second father her entire life. Her work on this event is a labor of love and tribute to the pay it forward mentality of her hero Frank Panzone! Finally, thank you to our namesake and HERO for this event Frank V Panzone Jr. For those that don’t know, we renamed our Cruisin for a Cure event the Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure to honor and pay tribute to a man that spent his life giving to his community. We could go on and on about Chowderfest, Chamber of Commerce President but we like to think about that first Cruisin for a Cure when Frank rode his Harley in terrible weather conditions with his daughter Jillian on the back of his bike while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation treatments of his own. It was important for him to ride in the midst of his own pain to benefit others battling this deadly disease!

Mother Theresa said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” Frank created a tidal wave and we are honored to pay tribute to him with this event that will continue to serve patients and families in dire need of our assistance. Thank you to everybody that took part in our 2nd Annual Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure! See you next year!

Thank you,                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          David

Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure
Frank V Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure

Frank V. Panzone Jr Memorial Cruisin for a Cure

Please join us on Sunday May 18th for our 2nd Annual Frank V. Panzone Jr Memorial Cruisin for a Cure. This is the third year for Cruisin for a Cure but we renamed the event last year to honor Frank V. Panzone Jr. Frank was so giving to his community throughout his life and this was on full display even as he battled stage IV cancer. His spirit, determination and courage in the face of indomitable odds are only a couple of the reasons we are so proud to call this event the Frank V. Panzone Jr Memorial Cruisin for a Cure! You do not need to ride a bike or own a classic car to enjoy the party at Joe Pop’s from 12-5. Please see event flier for details. You can download our Auction Agreement, Registration and Sponsorship forms right here or from our main page. Please Like our Facebook page and Click on our event page for this event. Let’s Go Cruisin for a Cure!

Auction Agreement

Registration Form

Sponsorship Form

Event Flier

MAP

Save the Date
Cruisin for a Cure

 

 

 

Cookies & Cocoa for a Cure

We were informed that 7 year old Matthew Compitello from Long Beach Township, NJ wanted a way to help families battling cancer during this holiday season. He created the event “Cookies & Cocoa for a Cure” and wanted to donate the proceeds to David’s dream and Believe Cancer Foundation.  He served hot chocolate and dished out homemade chocolate chip cookies that his mom Amye baked for the event (Delicious!) to anybody that stopped by his Uncle Steve’s store seawall ARTifacts located at 7712 Long Beach Boulevard, Long Beach Township NJ. Matthew was visited by locals, guests that saw the event on social media and Matthew even received a special visit from Mayor Joe Mancini! Matthew raised a whopping $621.00. Way to go Matthew and Thank You!

 

Matthew with Donations
Matthew with Donations
Matthew Fundraising!
Matthew Fundraising!
Mayor Joe Mancini & Matthew
Mayor Joe Mancini & Matthew
Matthew & David
Matthew & David