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Thousands Raise Hope and Funds For Highlands

Photography by Paul Scharff

As estimated 3,000 people braved the cold and traveled by land and sea Sunday afternoon to to raise hope and money for the sea side community of Highlands, NJ, much of which was destroyed by Hurricane Sandy,  at the Hope For Highlands Concert.  The concert was held at the Seastreak Ferry parking lot.  Seastreak provided ferry service from Atlantic Highlands and New York City to the event.

13 year old Max Kyrillos kicked off the concert with a Hendrix style rendition of The Star Spangled Banner.

Big Joe Henry, Southside Johnny and Pat Guadagno joined the previously announced talent of the Asbury Jukes, Glenn Alexander, Tony Seguso, Tony Tino, Bob Bandiera, Bob Burger, Lisa Bouchelle, Lisa Lowell, Layonne Holmes, and Tommy LaBella in raising the spirits of the tight knit community and the thousands came out to support their recovery.

Brian Spagnolo and Kari Belusko of Highlands were engaged to be married during the concert.

Over $35,000 has been raised so far.  Click here for more information on how to donate to the Hope for Highlands Fund.

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Jersey Shore Musicians To Kickoff Rebuilding Tour In Highlands on Sunday

A growing group of Jersey Shore musicians lead by producer Rick Korn and musical director Michael Mancini are raising money and the spirits of Jersey Shore residents with a concert to support the Rebuild The Jersey Shore efforts on Sunday November 25 in Highlands at the Seastreak Ferry terminal, 325 Shore Drive, at 2 p.m.

The Rebuild The Jersey Shore Band And Friends includes members of the Asbury Jukes, Glenn Alexander, Tony Seguso and bass player Tony Tino.   The expanding list of artists scheduled to perform in the Hope for Highlands Concert includes Bob Bandiera, Bob Burger, Lisa Bouchelle, Lisa Lowell, Layonne Holmes, and saxophone legend Tommy LaBella.

Admission to the concert is free.  Food and beer will be sold by local restaurants and merchants at the “Taste of Highlands” food court, with profits going to Highlands survivors.  There is a $10 parking fee at the Seastreak parking lots in Highlands and Atlantic Highlands, which will also go to those impacted by Sandy. Seastreak will provide free ferry service to the concert from Atantic Highlands.  There will also be ferry service from New York leaving from E 34th and Pier 11. A $65 fee will include the round trip boat ride, food and the concert.  Excess proceeds will go to support Highlands’ Sandy survivors.

The money raised through the concert will be administered by “Hope for Highlands”, a fund set up through the non-profit Highlands Business Partnership under the direction of Mayor Frank Nolan and Councilwoman Rebecca Kane. The  Hope for Highlands Fund is designed to go directly to the people and businesses in Highlands that need it most.

“Highlands, like so many devastated small towns up and down the Jersey Shore, was hit extremely hard by Hurricane Sandy”, said Nolan,” This half square mile middle class fishing village, has been devastated with severe damage to over 1200 of its 1500 downtown homes and almost all of its businesses.”

Highlands, the first stop on the Jersey Shore, is known for its spectacular restaurants, Sandy Hook, Historic Twin Lights and its fishing and clamming industry.

“The loss of these homes and businesses has had a ripple effect on the community beyond the norm because many of the residents worked and lived in the town”, said Borough Administrator Tim Hill,  “An economically challenged town before the storm, this community is now faced with not only the loss of their homes but many have also lost their jobs.”

Sponsors include Seastreak, Shore Point Distributing, Boulevard Pro, Big Top Tents of Long Branch, Streit Purveyors, Boardwalk Sausage, This Is It! Stageworks and Tri-State LaCrosse.

For more information or to donate to Hope For Highlands  visit www.highlandsnj.com .

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Hope for Highlands

Just 200 feet from where the guts of their homes are piled a story high and a block wide, the residents of Highlands took a break from their clean up today and came together in Huddy Park to enjoy the gorgeous weather, good food and music and to smile, laugh, cry, and look forward to rebuilding their community.

With music provided by Carl Gentry, Mary McCrink, Dave McCarthy and Kristian Rex, weary and waterlogged Highlanders greeted each other with tired smiles and warm embraces as they stood in line to enjoy the $10,000 worth of food donated by Boardwalk Sausage of Neptune.  The outdoor kitchen was provided and staffed by the business owners, employees and volunteers of the Highlands Business Partnership(HBP).

HPB, a 501 c-3, has established a fund, Hope for Highlands to accept tax deductable contributions to support the community’s recovery from Hurricane Sandy.  $6,672 was raised today at the event.

Tax deductable contributions to Hope for Highlands can be mailed to PO Box 375, Highlands, NJ 07732.  For additional information about the fund, call 732-291-4713.

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