Survival of the Mills presented by: Crossfit Absecon
Sunday September 24, 2017 at Wells Mills County Park
Please join us for the 4th Annual Survival of the Mills presented by our friends at Crossfit Absecon to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation on Sunday September 24, 2017 at Wells Mills County Park in Waretown, NJ. Our competitors can choose one of three challenging races including: a 7-stage Triathlon, 5-stage Duathlon or a 5K Trail Run/Walk.
Our friend Ross Reynolds from Trident Multisport is the race creator/organizer/director. Ross and his wife Marissa are the backbone for both of our athletic fundraisers with Survival of the Mills and Run for Hope. Their continued support for our families battling a cancer diagnosis is greatly appreciated by all of us at the Foundation.
Register for the Triathlon, Duathlon or 5K by clicking this Link: Survival of the Mills
We are looking for individuals and businesses to partner with David’s Dream & Believe on this great event. Please click on the Sponsorship Form below for a description of sponsorship opportunities available. Please contact David Caldarella david@davidsdreamandbelieve.org
The Law Office of William Wright presents: Survival of the Mills
Not surprisingly, the weather was absolutely horrendous for Survival of the Mills yesterday and was probably the worst weather for an event in DDBCF history including our Inaugural Frank V. Panzone Jr. Memorial Cruisin for a Cure back in 2013. Horrendous weather for a DDBCF event is “Kind of the Norm” but this event takes place entirely outside with athletes competing and volunteers in this weather for the better part of 3-8 hours. Temps never got above 55 degrees, winds were steady at 20mph with gusts hitting 30mph and steady to soaking downpours the entire day.
However, and this is a big HOWEVER, that did not stop over 100 athletes from competing and did not stop almost 30 volunteers from volunteering all day in that horrendous weather to benefit families battling a cancer diagnosis!!!
A HUGE thank you to Race Director Ross Reynolds from Trident Multisport and Southern Regional Middle School for creating, managing and directing a fantastic event in extremely difficult conditions. Thank you to Ross’s wife Marissa for her continued support and event day management. This event would not be possible without the combined support from Ross and Marissa Reynolds.
Thank you to Rebecca Posch who is a teacher at Southern Regional High School and one of the moderator’s for our David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation student group at SRHS. Rebecca volunteered all day along with approx. 25 students from our SRHS group. This was not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination so thank you very much.
Thank you to our Presenting Sponsor: The Law Office of William Wright. It was a family affair at Survival of the Mills for the Wright family. Bill finished first in his age group for the triathlon, his dad Dave finished second in his age group for the duathlon and Bill’s uncle Joe finished first in his age group for the duathlon. Bill and his staff at The Law Office of William Wright are the newest members of our Community Partner level of sponsorship. This level is reserved for businesses committed to the mission of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation with combined efforts of: financial sponsorship, raising awareness and volunteerism in excess of $10,000.00.
We want to thank all the sponsors for Survival of the Mills including our financial and food sponsorships. Thank you to Donna Carlson for all her support securing food donations, transporting them to and from and setting up our race-day food and beverage. Thank you to Pete and Dawn from Swing Graphics for creating all the graphic design for the event. Thank you to Ken Sullivan from Shore Promotions for our event shirt.
A special thanks to the 100 athletes that not only endured a challenging 5-stage triathlon, 5-stage duathlon or 5K course but extremely difficult and horrendous weather conditions. The tag line for this event is: You never know how Strong you are until being Strong is the Only choice You have. Our patients and their families battling a cancer diagnosis don’t have a choice in their battle against a cancer.
THANK YOU to everybody involved in Survival of the Mills including: race director, volunteers, athletes and sponsors who woke up and decided to make a difference in the life of a family battling a cancer diagnosis.
Survival of the Mills presented by: The Law Office of William Wright
Sunday October 9th at Wells Mills County Park
Please join us for the 4th Annual Survival of the Millson Sunday October 9, 2016 at Wells Mills County Park. Thank you to our friend Bill Wright and his staff at The Law Office of William Wright for their Presenting Sponsorship for Survival of the Mills. Our friend Ross Reynolds from Trident Multisport is the race creator/organizer/director. Thank you to Ross’s wife Marissa for all her support!
We welcome The Law Office of William Wright and Trident Multisport as the newest members to our Community Partner Sponsorship Level. Our community partner level is set at $10,000.00. This is reserved for businesses, organizations and individuals that donate, sponsor, volunteer, raise awareness and participate in the mission of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation to offer financial assistance, services and hope to families battling a cancer diagnosis.
Register for the 5K, Triathlon or Duathlon by clicking on this link: https://runsignup.com/Race/NJ/Waretown/SurvivaloftheMills
Our student group from Southern Regional High School will be volunteering at various locations throughout the race. We want to thank our friends Dawn and Pete at Swing Graphics for all the Graphic Design for the event and our friend Ken Sullivan at Shore Promotions for the event shirt! Please join us for a fun and challenging 5K, Triahtlon or Duathlon at Wells Mills County Park on Sunday October 9th to benefit:
Our 2nd Annual Survival of the Mills on Sunday October 11, 2015 brought together athletes, volunteers and sponsors for a “One of a Kind” race to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation.
We want to thank our friend & Race Director Ross Reynolds from Trident Multisport for another amazing race. Ross puts in a yeoman effort prior to the event and the athlete’s can visibly see the attention to detail on race day. Ross knows that perspective very well being a multisport athlete himself (very good one at that) and he takes pride in creating a well-run event for fellow athletes!
Thank you to all the amazing volunteers and there were plenty of you for the 2nd Annual Survival of the Mills. A special thanks to Ross’s wife Marissa for managing registration in 36’ degree temps early on race day and managing the various aspects of the after party and awards ceremony. Thank you to Tommy Craig for working on course set-up with Ross Reynolds and overall management of race logistics. Thank you to Cathy Deely for working our race packet pickup on Saturday and road detail on race day. Thank you to DDBCF Board of Director members Kim Manzella and Dani Corso for working packet pickup, water stations, transition area and road detail. Our Board of Director members serve on a 100% volunteer basis in order to direct the largest percentage of funds back to our families battling a cancer diagnosis.
We want to acknowledge the presence of two youth groups at our 2nd Annual Survival of the Mills. The youth group for DDBCF called Generation Dream manned the water stations and swim transition area. Kai Manzella from Generation Dream even spent his birthday with us volunteering during the race. Our newest partner is our DDBCF student group from Southern Regional High School. Ms. Rebecca Posch led a contingent of 16 students helping out all day with various tasks. Awesome Job to both of these amazing youth groups! A special thank you to Mikaela McGovern for singing a beautiful rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.
We want to thank our sponsors who make a conscious decision to support the Foundation throughout the year understanding that their efforts have a direct impact on the lives of families affected by a cancer diagnosis. Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine, Informed Mortgage, Thomas V. Mass DMD and Associates, Volatile Media Management, Panzone’s Pizza, Swing Graphics, Barlow Buick GMC, Thompson Healthcare & Sports Medicine, Fusaro’s Pizza, Shore Promotions, LBI PBA #175, Ocean County Sheriff, Waretown First Aid Department, Walt McCollum Plumbing Heating & Cooling, The Arlington, DQ Events, Road ID, Ocean County Parks & Recreation, Joseph A. Citta Scout Reservation and Wells Mills County Park.
A special thanks to our athletes who braved some “brisk” early morning temperatures but certainly understood the greater meaning behind this race and inspired us all with their efforts!
The end result of a successful race is that our patients will be the ultimate winners thanks to the efforts of so many today! Thank you from all of us at David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation and see you next year!
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have!”
We are excited for the 2nd Annual Survival of the Mills on Sunday October 11, 2015 presented by Trident Multisport to benefit David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation. Our main event sponsor remains Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center in Manahawkin, NJ! Owners Kim & John Manzella and their staff have been ardent supporters of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation since the inception of the Foundation. We also want to thank our friend & Race Director Ross Reynolds at Trident Multisport for creating this unique, scenic and demanding race.
Please visit Survival of the Mills for more information about the race and to register for this incredible event!
Click on below attachment for more information regarding Sponsorship & Food/Drink opportunities. Please contact David Caldarella at david@davidsdreamandbelieve.org or Kim Manzella at kim@davidsdreamandbelieve.org to reserve your sponsorship!
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have!”
We want to take a minute to thank the Amazing Kids & Parents from our youth sub-group of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation called “Generation Dream.”
The picture to the left was taken at our first meeting on June 25th 2014 with 23 kids. We currently have 74 kids registered to be a part of this amazing youth movement within David’s Dream & Believe. The children are committed to generating a ripple effect of Kindness, Love & Hope for NJ families living with a cancer diagnosis.
In one year, the kids have been responsible for several fundraising projects including a Lakewood Blueclaws Game, Thundering Surf Funday, Kids 4 Change, Project Dream & Holiday Cornbread Sale with our friends from Shore Fire Grille. Some of the kids have created their own fundraisers: Domenick Crisalli asked his mom to do a wear your jeans to work day and he also sold some of his own clothes online to raise money for DDBCF. Hadley Magaziner raised funds for DDBCF with a couple of lemonade stands during the summer and Cuade Deely created our very stylish Generation Dream Socks which can be found on our website by clicking the Shop Tab.
All of the kids & parents volunteered at a variety of David’s Dream & Believe events throughout 2014 including: 6th Annual Jetty Coquina Jam, Night at the Lakewood Blueclaws, Rocktoberfest, TGI Friday’s Regional Competition & Survival of the Mills.
Most importantly, the kids from Generation Dream planned and hosted a Holiday Party at SOMC for the Oncology Patients & their families. This was the culmination of an incredible inaugural year for Generation Dream and we could not be prouder of each every member of this group. A Huge thank you to all the parents of these amazing kids. We know without your commitment to the Foundation in driving the kids to meetings, events and fundraisers – none of this would be possible.
Lastly, we want to recognize one of our newest Director’s Kim Manzella who currently serves as our youth Director and is the creator of Generation Dream. Kim leads Generation Dream with her Huge Heart and is a wonderful example to the kids and to all of us of what it means to lead a “Pay it Forward” lifestyle! A special thanks to Melanie Magaziner, Kristin Panzone Jillian Elsasser and Dani Corso for their help with Generation Dream projects throughout 2014!
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’sfor 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!”
We are excited to announce Ocean Acupuncture & Herbal Medicine Wellness Center in Manahawkin, NJ have agreed to be the Main Event Sponsor for our Survival of the Mills event on October 12, 2014. Owners Kim & John Manzella and their staff have been ardent supporters of David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation since the inception of the Foundation. Kim Manzella recently accepted an invitation to join the Board of Directors for David’s Dream & Believe. All of us at the Foundation and our families battling a cancer diagnosis will be well served by Kim’s compassion, kindness, generosity and loving heart for others! We also want to thank our dear friend & Race Director Ross Reynolds at Trident Multisport for creating this unique, scenic and demanding race. We have been asked numerous times throughout the past 4 years, “Why don’t you have a race event to benefit David’s Dream & Believe?” The simple answer is we were waiting for that special event to come along and the right partnerships. We have found both with our 1st Annual Survival of the Mills and partnerships with Trident Multisport & Ocean Acupuncture!
One of Kim Manzella’s first acts after being appointed to the Board of Directors was to create a youth sub-group of David’s Dream & Believe called “Generation Dream.” Generation Dream is a youth group committed to raising awareness & creating fundraising projects for David’s Dream & Believe and generating a ripple effect of kindness, hope and love for New Jersey families battling a cancer diagnosis. Our Generation Dream Team will be heavily involved in this event as well. You will see some of them participating in the 5K race while others will be manning water stations along the race route.
Please visit Survival of the Mills for more information about the race and to register for this unique first time event!
Click on below attachment for more information regarding Sponsorship & Food/Drink opportunities. Please contact David Caldarella at david@davidsdreamandbelieve.org or Kim Manzella at kim@davidsdreamandbelieve.org to reserve your sponsorship!
“You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have!”
