13th Annual Coquina Jam

2021 Coquina Jam

2021 Coquina JamWhat: 13th Annual Coquina Jam – Female Surf Contest

Title Sponsors: Jefferson Health, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center, Drs. David and Melissa Cognetti and the Department of Otolaryngology – Head & Neck Surgery at Jefferson Health

When:  July 25, 2021 *No wave date August 1, 2021

Time:  8AM – 5PM

Where:  68th Street, Brant Beach. NJ 08008. Our vendor village will include food, beer, cultural sponsors, live music and plenty of Jetty apparel!

Why: 100% of the net proceeds will benefit cancer patients through David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation and Jetty Rock Foundation. You can support the surfers by clicking on their fundraising pages HERE!

How:  Through a fun, all-female team-oriented surf contest. When registration is complete, the pool of surfers will be divided by median age and then randomly paired coupling one younger surfer with one more experienced surfer. The teams will compete through a bracket-style tournament.

Email info@jettylife.com for Sponsorship Opportunities

About David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation

David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that raises funds to provide financial assistance, wellness services and hope to New Jersey families affected by a cancer diagnosis.

About the Jetty Rock Foundation

The Jetty Rock Foundation is the nonprofit arm of the Jetty apparel brand. The mission of the JRF is to facilitate clean water and support of those who build their lives around it. As a Certified B Corp, Jetty and the Jetty Rock Foundation are dedicated to oyster recycling, environmental stewardship and education. Join our good vibe tribe!

David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation Patient Support Fund

From left to right: Lora Rhodes, LCSW, Michelle Phillip, Adam Luginbuhl, MD, David Caldarella, David Cognetti, MD, and Danielle Corso

November 11, 2010, I heard the words every patient diagnosed with cancer wants to hear: “There’s No Evidence of Disease!” Those amazing words were uttered by the same surgeon who had to inform me I had Stage IV Head and Neck cancer in April 2010. Dr. David Cognetti and I have been able to share many milestones together along the way since 2010 including our joint service for the National Institute of Health’s Head and Neck Steering Committee, a Haiti Mission Trip, the 2020 Head and Neck Cancer Symposium and Dr. Cognetti’s recent promotion to Chairperson of the Department of Otolaryngology, but most importantly family outings to the annual Villanova University/Georgetown University basketball game in Philadelphia. A lifelong friendship was born out of a horrible cancer diagnosis. I am beyond grateful to share that same bond with many members of the Jefferson Health Department of Otolaryngology, Medical Oncology and Infusion Center & Jefferson Radiation Oncology at Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.

Dr. Cognetti and the entire team have also played a critical role in supporting David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation over the past 10 years. We share something else incredibly special beyond our friendships. It is a shared vision and commitment to improve the lives of patients and their families from the moment of a cancer diagnosis. Our Foundation recently gifted a financial contribution to the Department of Otolaryngology at Jefferson to establish the David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation Patient Support Fund. The goal of the fund is to provide a life preserver to patients facing overwhelming financial burdens. We are grateful for this partnership and that the mission of DDBCF has been adopted for this fund.

It has always been about patients and their families, and this partnership will allow us to continue to serve New Jersey residents as they receive cancer care in Pennsylvania.

David Caldarella
Stage IV Head and Neck Cancer Survivor
DDBCF Co-Founder/CEO

2017 Beacon of Hope Award Recipient: Dr. David M. Cognetti

 

2017 BEACON OF HOPE AWARD RECIPIENT:

David M. Cognetti, MD, FACS
Associate Professor and Co-Director, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery
Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center of Thomas Jefferson University

In recognition of an outstanding individual or agency instrumental in filling hearts with HOPE and shining a LIGHT in the darkness of cancer. We are proud and honored to recognize Dr. David M. Cognetti of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia with our “BEACON OF HOPE AWARD!

Dr. Cognetti was born and raised in Scranton, Pa (where all roads meet.)  He is the second tallest of nine children.  He and his siblings spent their childhood rooting against the Philadelphia Eagles and vacationing down the shore in Ocean City, NJ.  He currently serves as the Co-director of the Jefferson Center for Head and Neck Surgery.  At Jefferson, he initiated (with the help of dedicated colleagues and tremendous nursing teams) programs in Transoral Robotic Surgery as well as Sialendoscopy, both of which are innovative technologies that eliminate the need for radical open surgery. Both programs were one of the earliest of their kind in the United States and are currently among the busiest in the country.

Dr. Cognetti received his BS in Biology from Georgetown University, where he made an unsuccessful walk-on bid for the men’s basketball team.  He received his MD from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, where his future wife scored higher than him on all medical school exams and achieved a contested victory over him in a 10k race.  He completed a residency in Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Thomas Jefferson University before completing a fellowship in Advanced Head and Neck Oncologic Surgery at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.  Dr. Cognetti returned to Jefferson, his professional home, as faculty in 2008.

Dr. Cognetti has served many leadership roles at the institutional, regional, and national levels.  He completed the Jefferson Leadership Academy and currently serves as the chair of the Operating Room Committee at Jefferson. He serves as the Secretary/Treasurer for the Pennsylvania Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery.  He is the chair of the Head and Neck Surgery Education Committee for the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the co-chair of the History Committee of the Endocrine Surgery Section of the American Head and Neck Society.  He also serves on the Head and Neck Steering Committee Rare Tumors Task Force for the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute.  He has received a Castle Connolly Top Doc Award for the past three years.  Above all, he is tirelessly committed to the care of patients, in Philadelphia, Haiti, and beyond, and he is constantly looking at ways to improve systems and outcomes.   He currently resides in Penn Valley, PA with his supportive wife, Missy, and their three strong and independent daughters, Julia, Claire, and Sophia.

Inaugural Hope Under The Sea Gala

Hope Under The Sea

Hope Under The Sea

Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson and David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation present the inaugural Hope Under The Sea Gala which will take place on Saturday November 11th at Adventure Aquarium.

This black-tie optional gala, hosted by Cydney Long of NBC10 Philadelphia will feature a cocktail reception with American Idol’s Cara Samantha, speeches from the 2017 Beacon of Hope Award Recipient Dr. David Cognetti (TJUH), Mr. David Neu (Neu Center for Supportive Medicine & Cancer Survivorship), Big Daddy Graham (cancer survivor and fellow patient of Dr. Cognetti’s) & Dawn Aversa (DDBCF volunteer and mother of a young child who successfully battled cancer). Following the elegant cocktail hour will be a plated dinner served in the Aquarium’s magnificent ballroom where guests will have the opportunity to bid on auction items while being treated to a private concert by G. Love & Special Sauce.

This event benefits quality of life for cancer patients through the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson’s Neu Center for Supportive Medicine & Cancer Survivorship, Jefferson Health’s Mission in Haiti through the Jefferson Department of Otolaryngology and David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation.

About the Gala: 

The inaugural Hope Under the Sea Gala honors the relationship between Stage IV cancer patient David Caldarella (Co-founder, David’s Dream and Believe Cancer Foundation),  Dr. David Cognetti (Associate Professor and Co-Director, Jefferson Head and Neck Surgery), along with the entire Thomas Jefferson University Hospital team. This partnership shares a common goal to serve as a Beacon of Hope, and each year, the Gala will recognize one outstanding individual with the “Beacon of Hope Award”.

We are proud to announce that the 2017 Beacon of Hope Award recipient is Dr. David Cognetti!

Click for G. Love & Special Sauce Video

Click for Tickets

Click to become a Sponsor

Click to donate an Auction Item

Click to purchase Advertisement Journal Space: Page 1 & Page 2

For questions or more information, contact David Caldarella:
(609) 489-0011 or david@davidsdreamandbelieve.org