$2,500 donation accepted by Coastal Habitat For Humanity

Coastal Habitat For Humanity was recently awarded $2,500 to support its mission to provide simple, decent, affordable housing by OceanFirst Foundation of Toms River.

The grant will fund the ongoing efforts and current projects of the organization to benefit families in need in Monmouth County.

Recently, Coastal Habitat For Humanity received three lots from the Asbury Park City Council and is planning construction of new homes on those lots. The houses will be built by volunteers, as well as the partnering families.

Each family selected for homeownership must contribute at least 250 hours of work or “Sweat Equity” toward their new home.

Because of donations like the OceanFirst Foundation award and volunteered building hours, Habitat For Humanity is able to offer low-income families an opportunity to buy affordable housing with a no-interest mortgage.

The mortgage paid goes toward the construction of new Habitat houses.

To meet the needs of the community in addition to constructing new homes, Coastal Habitat has integrated a creative program called “A Brush With Kindness.”

This program addresses the needs of existing homeowners who can no longer keep up with the exterior maintenance of their property. These one-day projects bring volunteers together to help a member of their community who may be elderly, of low-income or disabled.

Coastal Habitat For Humanity is able to keep these projects alive thanks to hardworking volunteers and charitable donors. To date, the OceanFirst Foundation has contributed $10,000 to aid in the effort to provide affordable housing for Monmouth County.

Coastal Habitat For Humanity, an affiliate of Habitat For Humanity International, was founded in 1994 and built its first home in 1997 in Asbury Park.

Habitat For Humanity is an ecumenical Christian housing ministry devoted to eliminating substandard housing, and partnering with low-income families and communities.

For more information about how to make a donation or become a volunteer, visit www.coastalhabitat.org or call 732-974-2422.

Founded in 1996, OceanFirst Foundation is the first foundation in the nation to be established by a bank as part of an initial public offering.

In 2008, OceanFirst Foundation donated more than $1.6 million to community initiatives.

OceanFirst Foundation has contributed approximately $20 million to over 600 local charities in Ocean, Monmouth and Middlesex counties since its inception. Its four priorities are housing, health and wellness, improving the quality of life, and youth development. For more information, visit www.oceanfirstfdn.org.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Attack Of The 20-Foot Parrot!

Windy weather brought numerous kite flyers out to Belmar this past weekend, as a wide variety of streamers, balloons and kites shaped like enormous parrots were seen decorating the local skies.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Family bike ride set for boardwalk

The Belmar/Lake Como Parade Committee has announced the second annual family bike ride to be held on the Belmar Boardwalk.

This year’s event will be held on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.

Registration is $10 for adults [$12 on site] and $5 for children [$6 on site]. This fee includes a picnic following the ride at the Taylor Pavilion.

This year’s ride will be in honor of Loretta Breiner, a former parade committee member who died this year following a battle with cancer.

For more information, please contact the parade committee at Belmarbikeride@yahoo.com.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Chamberlins begin at United Methodist

By Zach Levine

Parishioners at the First United Methodist Church in Belmar recently welcomed two new members to their church — pastors Eugene and Ellen Chamberlin.

Since July, both have been serving as co-pastors of the church.

Pastor Ellen noted that she and her husband have devoted much of their time to religion, as they have spent much time at the Bradley Beach Methodist Church, even getting married there 10 years ago.

She explained that it was around that time when they both realized they wanted to pursue religion further and help out the local community, as well.

“About 10 years ago, both my husband and I began leading the Bradley Beach United Methodist Youth groups,” she said.

She added that besides the youth group, they also helped with Sunday School classes, as well.

After years of work, they both were named pastors at the Bradley Beach United Methodist Church two years ago.

Pastor Ellen noted that they soon realized that they wanted to help out the local community, besides working with the church in Bradley Beach, and they decided to look into other churches they could possibly help, as well.

This lead them to deciding to come to the First United Methodist Church in Belmar.

Currently, the Chamberlins split time as pastors between the churches in Bradley Beach and Belmar.

She explained that currently, she and her husband are both “student pastors,” allowing them to continue their education while serving the church.

“We’re just going through that process at the moment and we should be continuing that for a while,” Pastor Ellen said.

She also noted that during the two months that they have been pastors at the church, they have already performed three funerals and a baptism.

She explained that their main goal as pastors of the church is to meet all the religious needs of the local community.

“Our hope is to meet the mission and needs of those sharing in the gospel,” she said.

One organization she is now pleased to be a part of is the Belmar Council of Churches, a group of about 5-8 churches that perform ministry outreach together.

“It’s done through the church. We really try to branch out and meet the needs of people locally,” Pastor Ellen said.

She also noted that the council of churches is extremely helpful, as it allows the pastors to pool money raised together so they can better help those throughout the the community.

“Within their fundraising, many of the pastors will find people knocking on the door saying that they are in need. Through the council of churches, this fund is then shared between all,” she said.

Pastor Ellen also noted that the organization helps those who may not have a place to stay during the colder months.

“It is great to be able to help these people who may need a place to lie their head, and we can put them in a hotel. It is really exciting,” she stated.

One issue that Pastor Ellen is looking to work on is trying to have church functions at local schools throughout the area.

“We want to have a liaison between the school and church,” she said. “One program that we would like to do is a liturgical dance, and we would like to see if it could be administered at the school.”

She further noted that she wanted people to understand that the liturgical dance would be a family-friendly event, and that they would not be forcing religion on anyone who attends.

“If someone is of another faith or a non-believer, they can still participate,” she said.

Another goal she had for the church was for the installation of a prayer garden, which would allow parishioners of the church to pray outdoors when it is nice outside.

She also noted that one of their major goals was to thank all those in the local community who help out on an every day basis.

“We’d like to reach out to the community and give thanks for those in service, including firemen and first aid,” Pastor Ellen said. “We would invite them within the context of worship and acknowledge them for what they do.”

She further noted that these events would not be exclusive to first aid and fire departments, but also members of the beachfront, borough council and the local restaurants and people who are always contributing to the town.

Also, with the holiday season fast approaching, Pastor Ellen noted that they have already begun looking into the possibility of having some sort of Christmas concert to be held in the coming months.

She went on to say how much her and Pastor Eugene have enjoyed spending time in Belmar and with people at the First United Methodist Church in recent months.

“The people here are super lovely,” she said. “It really is a wonderful group of people here.”

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Catching Up On The Local News

Students from Colleen Reilly’s sixth grade social studies class at St. Rose Elementary School recently began their day by reading stories from The Coast Star. After reading the articles, the students were then asked to summarize the stories as best they could to show what they had learned about local events.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Antiques-By-The-Atlantic enjoys a successful weekend

By Zach Levine

Bargain hunters and memorabilia collectors were out in full force in Belmar this weekend, as the Taylor Pavilion and Kravetz Auctions were sites of the 6th Annual Antiques-By-The-Atlantic weekend.

The event ran from Friday to Sunday and included a night with collectors, a day of memorabilia appraising, and an afternoon at the Kravetz Auctions in Lake Como.

Friday night, collectors Art Kravetz, Wayne and Ginny Stevenson, John Frank and David Pollack gave presentations on how to properly collect rare merchandise.

Belmar Historical Preservation Advisory Council [BHPC] Secretary and Antiques-By-The-Atlantic Chairperson Patricia O’Keefe noted the collectors were experts in decoys, silver, artwork and folk art.

“They described to the audience how their interest sparked a passion and how to begin a collection,” Ms. O’Keefe said.

She also noted that the collectors told stories to the crowd about mishaps while looking for memorabilia.

“They all told amusing stories about mistakes that they made with pieces they were trying to

purchase,” she said. “It was an informative but fun evening for all of us to listen.”

The following day was the antique sale at the Taylor Pavilion, where people could also have their memorabilia appraised to find out how much money they would be able to get for it.

Ms. O’Keefe noted that one of the highlights of the day was an “old-fashioned photo booth.”

“Two local artists did four different beach screens, and people could stick their heads through and have a picture taken,” she said.

She noted that it was one of the most popular attractions of the weekend, and all funds raised from the pictures will go to the Belmar Historical Council.

“It was really cute,” she said. “We even had some people plan ahead and will use their pictures as Christmas cards.”

She noted that the weather cooperated for most of the day, and it turned out to be a great event for all who came.

On Sunday, the highlight of the day was the antique sale at Kravetz Auctions in Lake Como.

Ms. O’Keefe explained that it was a great auction, as it helped out the novice collectors and made it easy for the collectors to figure out what was going on during the auction.

“The auction was particularly attractive to beginners,” she said. “Art Kravetz, the owner and auctioneer, was very entertaining. It was fun to take part in and easy to understand.”

She noted that throughout the auction, there was a wide array of bidding going on, with some pieces that went for just $10, and, on the other end of the spectrum, one painting that sold for $5,000.

“We had that and everything in between,” she said.

Ms. O’Keefe went on to say that it was a successful event for all those involved, and it was something that the council would most definitely hold next year.

“The event was a success and we had a steady stream of people coming through the antique show,” she said. “Several of the dealers said that they had a good day.”

She further noted that she was worried the poor economy would dampen the weekend’s events, but everything actually turned out rather well for all involved.

“We were slightly concerned with the economy that people wouldn’t spend money this way, but I think people were bargain hunting, and dealers were open to negotiations,” she said.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Belmar Basketball Registration

PLEASE MARK YOUR CALENDERS and tell your friends

It is time for the 2009-2010 basketball season to begin in Belmar. The league is open to all Belmar residents and St. Rose students. Any player from Kindergarten to Eighth grade is welcome to play. The fee to play is $40 a player witha maximum of $100 per family. The clinics run from November until Christmas with games starting when the winter break is over.

Here are the league breakdowns:

Kindergarten and 1^st grade clinics               (Saturday mornings)

Boys 2^ndthru 4^th grade      Girls 2^ndthru 4^th grade     ( 8 foot baskets)

Girls 5^ththru 8th grade         Boys 5^ththru 7^th grade          (10 foot baskets)

Currently we are working on a league for the 8^th grade boys.

 

Sign up dates in the Belmar Rec Gym:

Friday October 16^th:              7pm to 9pm

Saturday October 17^th:         1pm to 3pm

Sunday October 18^th:                        10am to 12pm

Any questions please contact me at ahurley@yahoo.com

Belmar Basketball Director,

Andrew Hurley

Swine Flu presentation scheduled

On Sept. 29, the Board of Health will be giving a presentation about the Swine Flu at the Belmar Free Public Library, 517 Tenth Ave., Belmar.

The program will run from 1 to 2 p.m.

Representatives from the board will explain the symptoms and causes of the flu. They will also answer any questions people may have about the illness.

All are welcome to attend the program, and it will be held downstairs in the library media room.

For more information about the program, please contact the library at 732-681-0775.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Skateboard clinic set for October

Belmar Recreation, in conjunction with the Pro Skateboard Shop at 1108 Main St., Belmar, will be presenting a free skateboard clinic at the Belmar Skatepark at 16th Avenue.

The clinics will be held throughout the day on Oct. 3, 10, 17 and 24.

Those 9 and under can come to the clinic from 9 to 10 a.m. Those 10-12 years old are asked to come from 10 to 11 a.m. Those 13 years and older may come from 11 a.m. until noon.

Mike Mixson will be offering the lessons and teaching the basics, such as ramp skating, ollieing and much more.

Helmets are required at all times at the skate park.

Participants can register at the Pro Skate Shop, 1108 Main St., Belmar.

For more information, please call Mike Campbell at 732-681-3700 ext. 211, or visit www.belmarskatepark.com.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

Our New Classroom Pets

St. Rose Grammar School kindergarten students from Sheila Langon’s class recently welcomed two fish and a new aquarium to their classroom. The students will learn all about responsibility as they care for the two fish, which they named Minnie and Mickey. Some of the class members who will be watching over the fish include Michael Nikola [from left], William Foy, Amanda Munoz, Mia DeGenova and Sarah Yevchak.

More Belmar news, plus full coverage of southern Monmouth and northern Ocean counties, can be found at starnewsgroup.com.

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