The Great Auditorium on Oct. 28, 2012, the day before Sandy hit Ocean Grove. Photo by Eileen Goldfinger ©
We have received word from Margaret Cotton, co-Chair of the Together Campaign.
The Together Campaign has reached $1.5 million!
Our sincere thanks to all who were a part of the amazing effort
– those who gave the gift of their time,
– the gift of encouragement, prayers, and faith,
– and generous and sacrificial gifts of financial support
This week we received word of a grant from Samaritan’s Purse
toward the repair of the boardwalk that sent us across the finish line.
In the beginning we knew that gifts great and small would be necessary to reach this goal.
No words can express our gratitude for such overflowing blessings, but we are going to try.
Help Us Thank Our Donors and Volunteers
At An Ocean Grove “Together” Celebration!
All Are Welcome!
Sunday, November 3, 2013
3 pm to 5 pm
Ocean Grove Youth Temple
Congratulations from Blogfinger for the unique fund-raising success engineered by the Together Campaign in partnership with citizens and friends of Ocean Grove. Nowhere on the Jersey Shore can you find an effort that comes even close to this accomplishment.
Here’s a musical tribute that incorporates sentiments of thanks, love, memories, and dreams come true. It’s LOUIS ARMSTRONG with “Thanks a Million.” —-Paul Goldfinger, Editor @Blogfinger
OPEN LETTER TO THE OCEAN GROVE “Together Campaign”
(upon the occasion of reaching the fundraising goal of 1.5 million dollars needed to repair all major damage incurred through Hurricane Sandy)
by Steve Valk
Upon arriving in Ocean Grove this summer to spend the month of August with my cousin Gerard Cleaves and his family, the first thing that came INSTANTANEOUSLY to my attention was the TOGETHER CAMPAIGN. It must have been the T-Shirts being worn by almost everyone in town… store owners, waiters and waitresses, people on the street…
Within minutes of walking down Main Street, ordering my first cappuccino, it was clear…there was SOMETHING HAPPENING, SOMETHING AFOOT, SOMETHING BLOWING IN THE WIND and the TOGETHER CAMPAIGN seemed to be WHAT IT WAS ALL ABOUT. Then and there, half an hour after arriving in town… I bought my first T-shirt and joined “the movement”. What a PEACEFUL EASY FEELING it was to be in a place that seemed to be “united” (in connection with itself) in a way I had never experienced before.
And so it continued… all summer, the TOGETHER CAMPAIGN was an ever-present subject of conversation amongst family and friends. Personally, I was able to participate in and even initiate a number of small fundraising projects (which I won`t go into right now) including, of course, buying T-shirts for family members, donating at church, concerts and events… As you can imagine, I was delighted yesterday to hear the news that the goal of 1.5 million dollars had been reached. I knew it would, but that it would happen so fast says something about the character, intelligence and instilled sense of self-awareness Ocean Grove leadership has been able to marshal at this critical moment in its history.
There seems to be something very special at work in this ever so “civic” and “sacred” seaside retreat… a unique blend of communal and spiritual vitality that is deeply inclusive and willing to reach out to not only all members of the community, but to visitors and strangers alike.
In these trying and often frustrating times, it is reassuring to know that there are places on this earth where the social heart and mind of a community are healthy, active and alive. Where hard work, the spirit of cooperation and good old “common” sense rule the day.
Warmest regards and congratulations from Frankfurt, Germany… Steve Valk