Charitable Choices

By Art Gallagher

Something has been bothering me about the Jersey Shore Workcamp project I wrote about yesterday.  It is the same thing that bothered me about a similar project I wrote about in July of 2009.

Why are churches and high schools throughout the country sending teenagers here to Monmouth County New Jersey to fix up the homes of the needy?    Why are 440 kids coming here next month to do their charitable work instead of going to Newark, Camden, New Orleans, Mississippi or the South Bronx?

Why is there a need here?

Something I read in the Two River Times this morning made the conditions that allow for the Jersey Shore Workcamp bother me even more.

Rumson Mayor John Ekdahl is raising money, tax deductible money, for the Rumson fireworks.  He sent a letter to residents of Rumson, Navesink and Fair Haven asking for contributions to the Rumson Endowment Fund, Inc, a 501 c 3, to fund Rumson’s $100,000 fireworks display.

In the TRT article, Ekdahl is quoted as saying that the Rumson fireworks mirror the famous Red Bank Kaboom fireworks.  7500 people enjoy the Rumson show, not including private parties.  5000 of those people watch pyrotechnics from the Oceananic Bridge where they have great views of both the Rumson and Red Bank fireworks.

I have nothing against fireworks, I just don’t like crowds.  I went to the Red Bank fireworks once in the 90’s.  The show was spectacular but the crowd was too much for me.   For the last couple of years I’ve preferred to watch the NY fireworks from a distance on my deck in Highlands while listening to the Red Bank and Rumson shows.   Even if the Gooches or the Halls invited me to a private fireworks party I would think twice for fear that the short drive to and from home would take hours with all the traffic.

I think the good people of Rumson, Navesink and Fair Haven should spend their money however they like.  If they want to chip in $100,000 per year for fireworks for all to enjoy, fine with me.

But there is something unseemly about the fact that a week later 440 kids from throughout the country will be coming to the neighborhood, and paying $449 each to do so, in order to fix up the homes of the poor and disabled.

Anyone who wants to volunteer or contribute to the Jersey Shore Workcamp can contact Bill Bechtoldt at 732-671-1036.

Posted: June 10th, 2011 | Author: Art Gallagher | Filed under: Monmouth County | Tags: Jersey Shore Workcamp, Monmouth County, Rumson Fireworks | 1 Comment »

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