United Way
of Cape May County

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the United Way in Cape May County, and last month they celebrated by recognizing the important contributions that volunteers, donors and businesses make toward their goal of making life better for county residents.

The “Starfish Awards Ceremony” was held at the Bolero, in Wildwood, and Executive Director Suzanne Nardi thanked those in attendance for their hard work and support.

“You are the backbone of this organization,” she said. “It is a privilege to work with people who unselfishly give of themselves, not for they accolades, but because they care,”

The award ceremony gets its name from the story of a young boy who walked along the shore, throwing beached starfish into the surf to rescue them. A passerby warns him that there are too many to save and he can’t make a difference. It doesn’t stop the boy however, and he picks up another fish from the beach and throws it into the water. “I made a difference to that one,” the boy says.

Nardi said that like the boy in the story, the Starfish Award recipients make a difference every day.

“By stocking shelves at the food pantry, serving hot lunches to our clients, sorting and selling ducks for the Annual Rubber Ducky Regatta, and donating the time, money and professional services that we need you make a big difference in our community,” Nardi said.

United Way Chairman John Lynch said that the awards are important because they recognize the many contributions that enable the United Way to achieve its goals. “We couldn’t do what we do without all the unsung heroes behind the scenes.” Lynch said. “These people and other others like them are an inspiration. It’s why Suzanne and I love to come to work every day.”

Starfish Awards were presented to:

• Troy Cawley, of CAM Web Design, for donating his time and talent to redesigning the United Way website
• Bob Fagan of Wildwood Dairy Queen for his support of the Rubber Ducky Regatta and his generous sponsorship of field trips for local children
• Trish Ennis, a former North Wildwood resident, who makes frequent donations of food and clothes
• Cindy Gorman, who jumped into rubber ducky sales with two feet and raised hundreds of dollars
• Gail Noble, a parishioner at St. Mary’s Church in Stone Harbor, who volunteers regularly at the food pantry and hot lunch program, and works tirelessly toward understanding the needs of county residents. Gail and her husband Tim have opened a thrift store and furniture in Rio Grande to raise money to fight homelessness in Cape May County
• Crest Memorial’s Peer Leadership, who organized an annual food drive that brought more than 1,000 non-perishable food items to the pantry this November
• Connie Petrosino for doing whatever is needed whenever she is needed, including tedious and unpopular jobs like sorting thousands of rubber ducks
• Michelle and Rich Russo of Russo’s Market in North Wildwood for quietly donating food and holiday gifts for children every year
• Ray Seible, who rigorously shops for food bargains and then donates a booty of non-perishable food to the pantry
• Suzanne Webb, Grayce Kelleher and Vickie Banks of Sticks and Dirt Real Estate for donating reusable bags and holding drives for much needed paper goods for the pantry
• Cape Classic Motorcycle Club was honored as donor of the year for their incredibly generous donation of $20,000 from a motorcycle raffle held during Roar to the Shore weekend
• Fitzpatrick’s Crest Tavern was recognized as business of their year for their inspiring commitment to community
• Catamaran Media was recognized with a Duck Prints Media award for their promotion of the Rubber Ducky Regatta through the popular “Flew the Coop” contest.
• Florence Dawson was recognized as volunteer of the year for her dedicated volunteer work in support of United Way events and her commitment to the United Way Board of Directors

Filed under: Event Photos, Events, Press Releases, Recognition

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