A Great Time for a Great Cause

The Shore Dreams for Kids organization is once again planning to offer free power boat rides for children with special needs this summer, but they can't make it happen without your help.

The group's annual Casino Night fundraiser is coming up in June, but Communications Director Dave Patnaude says that's just the beginning if you want to get involved.

"Then, when the actual event comes, you can actually go and volunteer for the day, or even just a few hours if you have them, at the event itself," Patnaude said.  "And see your money actually go to work and see the fun and the excitement it brings on these children's faces."

Shore Dreams for Kids grew out of an idea first started by the Day on the Bay Foundation.  The program originally focused on participants in the Special Olympics, but has since expanded to include children from the Make a Wish Foundation, Oceans of Love and other children's charities.  Patnaude says the impact on the kids and their families is simply amazing.

"So many parents we talk to and we get feedback from... the idea of their children being able to just get into a car or get into a mobile van to be able to go somewhere is a major achievement for some of them," Patnaude said.

Casino Night is set for June 12, 2015, at the Eagle Ridge Country Club in Lakewood.  The Boat Ride takes place on July 11, 2015, in Seaside Heights.