LAKEWOOD, NJ – BlueClaws Charities, the official 501c3 organization of the Lakewood BlueClaws, handed out grants to 35 partner organizations as part of their 8th annual grant distribution.

BlueClaws Charities Community Partner organizations, all 501c3s that work with the BlueClaws throughout the year, were eligible to apply for a grant and all organizations that applied for a grant received one.

Each applicant was asked to detail a specific use for the grant, with the requirement that all money received from BlueClaws Charities stays in Ocean & Monmouth Counties. A complete list can be found below.

“BlueClaws Charities is excited to support such a wide variety of outstanding, local, non-profit organizations,” said Jim DeAngelis, BlueClaws Charities Executive Director. “These organizations are on the ground working with the underserved in our communities, doing spectacular work. It is an honor for BlueClaws Charities to be able to assist.”

BlueClaws Charities, a registered 501c3 organization, raises money at all 70 BlueClaws home games. A 50/50 raffle, special jersey auctions, and miscellaneous programs are used to raise money during games. The annual “Phillies Winter Banquet,” “ALS Celebrity Waiter Event,” “Bowling With the BlueClaws,” and the “BlueClaws Charities Nine & Dine Golf Outing” are additional fundraising initiatives conducted by BlueClaws Charities.

“Our fans and donors have been tremendously supportive of BlueClaws Charities over the years, and this year was no exception,” said DeAngelis. “We look forward to another successful season in 2017!”

Below, find a list of organizations and programs supported through the annual BlueClaws Charities grant program:

• ALS Association of Greater Philadelphia – For patient care services to help the 50 ALS patient families living in Monmouth & Ocean Counties.
• American Heart Association – For their Heart Walk, a community event that encourages physical activity to help lower risk factors that can lead to heart disease.
• Arc of Ocean County – For their mission of helping individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities be accepted and valued as citizens of the community.
• Ashley Lauren Foundation – For assisting children with cancer and their families through direct financial assistance.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County – For providing group mentoring activities to children on their waiting list of 180 children, enabling them to be involved with the agency.
• Boot Campaign – For raising awareness and assistance for military families and personnel especially relating to the unique challenges they face during and post-service.
• Caregiver Volunteers – For defraying the cost of criminal background checks completed on volunteers prior to assignments.
• Cheer Dream Scoliosis Foundation – For assisting children with medical needs in their facility.
• Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation – For improving the quality of life for children and adults affected by the diseases.
• Daniela’s Wish – For granting wishes to sick children in the community.
• Dottie’s House – For providing safe housing for women and their children through a program that empowers them to become self-sufficient and free from violence.
• Easter Seals New Jersey – For installing a new ram and deck to an existing residential home for Easter Seals program participants.
• Exit 82 Theatre Company – For funding their 2017 production season with selected shows.
• Tom Giannattasio Jr. Memorial Fund – For providing scholarships for Brick Township High Schools.
• Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore – For supporting their summer outreach initiative Girls Are Great, which sends underserved girls to camp.
• Go4TheGoal – For helping kids with cancer in the program achieve their goals.
• Interfaith Hospitality Network – For supporting their mission of providing emergency shelter and other urgently needed services to a growing number of homeless families in Ocean County.
• Kids Need More – For enhancing the lives of children, families, and young adults coping with cancer and life-threatening illness.
• LADACIN Network – For enhancing the program offerings at their Adult Day Habilitation program with a new horticulture gardening and farming experience.
• Lt. Dennis W. Zilinski II Memorial Fund – For aiding their mission of aiding and assisting our wounded warriors and their families.
• Mary’s Place By the Sea – For supporting the oncology massage program for women with cancer.
• NJ Tears Foundation – For promoting pregnancy and infant loss awareness and support in Monmouth and Ocean Counties.
• Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity – For assisting in building a home for a single mother and two children in Ocean County.
• Ocean County Family Support Organization – For assisting in their spring camping trip for youth partnership.
• Ocean Partnership for Children – For assisting needy youth families during the holiday season.
• Ocean County Shrine Club – For the Shriners Hospital’s Surgical Navigation System for Children’s Spine Injuries.
• Ocean County YMCA – For helping kids, families, and seniors in the community find the assets they need in YMCA programs and memberships regardless of incomes and backgrounds.
• Ocean’s Harbor House – For supplementing the salary of a Life Skills counselor working with homeless youths in their Transitional Living Program.
• Opportunity Knocks – For assisting in long-term community placement of the disabled.
• Parents of Autistic Children – For providing a challenger sports league designed to offer a socialization opportunity for disabled students and developing peers in Ocean and Monmouth Counties.
• Piece of the Puzzle – For technology to help students with autism learn and practice vocational skills.
• Raising Hope for Others – For assisting the organization with financial costs for organizing and running their major fundraising events.
• Salvation Army – For funding their feeding program for local underserved.
• St. Vincent DePaul Society – For helping to fund temporary sheltering of local homeless.
• United Way of Monmouth & Ocean Counties – For acquiring hats, coats, gloves, and scarves to help keep children warm this winter.

BlueClaws Charities, in addition to the grant program, supports hundreds of non-profit organizations with gift package donations, golf outing hole-in-one sponsorships, and specialty organizations such as OCEAN, Inc., a federal program that assists the less fortunate in the community. The “Tickets for Kids Program,” another BlueClaws Charities initiative, donates over 2,000 tickets to under-served youths in Lakewood and elsewhere in Ocean County.

Organizations that would like to become Community Partners can call Jim DeAngelis at 732-901-7000 ext 114. Community Partners raise money through a BlueClaws fundraiser outing and have the opportunity to volunteer in the FirstEnergy Park concession stands to raise additional funds. These organizations also receive exposure through on-field presentations, table displays, and on BlueClaws.com, plus they have special opportunities to hold events, such as charity walks, at FirstEnergy Park.

The BlueClaws are the Jersey Shore’s top stop for affordable, family entertainment. They have led the South Atlantic League and New Jersey in attendance in each year of existence and will reach the 7-million fan plateau in 2017.

– BlueClaws Charities –