NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP – Mary’s Place By The Sea in Ocean Grove, a temporary home for women fighting cancer, will be the recipient of funds raised from the 20th annual Neptune Mayor’s Ball scheduled for May 31.
Mary’s Place founder Michele Gannon said she was “ecstatic” when she learned her organization was to be this year’s recipient.
“We are very happy to be supported by Neptune. This is an amazing community, especially after what happened in the wake of Sandy, and we were very humbled when we received the telephone call telling us we would be this year’s recipient,” she said.
Gannon said all guests at Mary’s Place stay for free and funds from the Mayor’s Ball will be used to pay household expenses, like rent, food, and services for the women.
“We are very grateful for those who support us so we can keep these services free,” she said.
The ball will be held at the Jumping Brook Country Club. Hors d’oeuvres are from 7 to 8 p.m. with dinner at 8 p.m. There will be a two-hour open bar and dancing with “The Fever” until midnight.
The cost is $85 per person. For tickets call Sharon Rowe at 732-988-5200, extension 242, or visit the Neptune municipal complex.
An added feature at the ball will be an announcement listing previous mayors and the recipients of funds raised from the Mayor’s Ball over the past 20 years.
And Mayor Eric Houghtaling said Mary’s Place is a perfect recipient for this year’s funds.
“It’s a place where women broken and struggling in their battle with cancer can find comfort, love and kindness from those who understand what they are going through. To relax and maybe, for awhile, just forget their troubles as they enjoy the ocean air, the charm of historic Ocean Grove and just maybe reach back to a much happier time in their lives.
“We seek generosity for those that, through no fault of their own, are in a very difficult time, where the human spirit is tested to new limits and the comfort and support from others, with the greatest challenges that anyone could face, certainly provides strength at a time when it would be easy to be weak,” he said.
Gannon founded Mary’s Place By the Sea, at 15 Broadway, in 2009 as a resource for women undergoing treatment for cancer after herself recovering from a non-life-threatening illness earlier.
Since then, hundreds of women have benefited from the peaceful care, concern and support there. Mary’s Place is located in a three-story Victorian homes that faces Fletcher Lake and is just one block west of the Atlantic Ocean.
