BRICK – “Shore to Give” is perfectly named since the non-profit group is made up of Ocean County healthcare professionals who raise money to support neighbors through charitable giving.
With the current membership numbering 25, the group holds two main fundraisers a year, in the spring and fall, and partners with other small non-profit organizations.
All the volunteers have day jobs as administrators at senior living facilities, in hospice care, in skilled nursing, in elder law and more.
One of the four founding board members, Loretta Shopene said “Shore To Give” was founded after they broke off from a larger for-profit organization who was not using all the funds raised by members and “what we were raising it for…it was disheartening to us,” she said during their most recent meeting, held on the first Tuesday morning of every month.
“So we said we can’t just sit around and do nothing because what we do – we give back to the community. So we decided to put together a small group – we didn’t even know what we were doing – but we wanted to help small, local non-profit organizations,” she said.
“Shore To Give” has grown from the four original members to over 25 members, who aren’t all able to attend every meeting but help out in other ways, such as fundraising, Shopene said.
Their first fundraiser was for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), an organization of volunteers who are appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of a child – oftentimes a foster child – in court proceedings, particularly in cases of abuse or neglect.
They raised funds and donated 100 backpacks filled with age- and grade-appropriate items for the foster children. The money came from donation requests on social media (Kevin Basinder serves as their social media manager), donations from their healthcare companies and from some of their professional partners.
Their most recent donation was a $7,500 check presented to Disabled American Veterans, which was raised by a line dancing event in space donated by Brick Knights of Columbus.
Garden State Distillery in Toms River has repeatedly donated their space for other events, such as Pocketbook Bingo (bingo for designer handbags, which were donated), which included gift baskets and raffles.
Through that fundraiser, they partnered with The Dream Factory, which grants the dreams of children who are critically or chronically ill and they were able to send a nine-year-old girl to Disney.
Members of “Shore To Give” pay $100 annually in dues, which can be paid quarterly.
“We are a no-judgement zone,” said one of the other four founding members, Robin Rivera (Maria Penna and Bernie Branz are the other two). “If you want to be involved, be involved, if you can’t, we don’t judge you.”
During their monthly meetings they plan for the next fundraiser and decide on the next beneficiary.
The meetings are held in space donated by Town Square at the Jersey Shore (located at the former Pathmark/KMart plaza), which is a center that provides daytime enrichment for seniors (with or without dementia) for $20 an hour. This is their fourth location in New Jersey.
“Shore to Give” is holding a membership drive, and membership is open to all, not just those in healthcare. For more information contact [email protected] or call 732-267-6907.
