Community unites for cancer foundation dinner
Page 4 • Wednesday, October 17, 2018 • The Hammonton Gazette
by Stephen Pistone
G azeTTe S Taff W riTer
HaMMONTON—for the past
11 years, the Hammonton Cancer
foundation (HCf) has been able
to provide more than $285,000 of
aid to area cancer patients due to
the continued support and gen-
erosity of local residents, busi-
nesses and civic organizations.
That support and generosity
was on full display during the
HCf’s 11th annual “Helping Our
Neighbors” Dinner on October 13
at Villa Manor in Winslow Twp.
a large group of local residents
attended the annual banquet
fundraiser, which has greatly
helped the HCf build a commu-
nity presence since its inception,
according to HCf President David
Mauriello.
“Our group has grown, we’ve
added members and we’ve be-
come more recognized as an or-
ganization. and because of that,
over the last about three or four
years, our donations have gone up
every year,” Mauriello said.
Ninety-five percent of the
money donated to the HCf is in
turn donated to the South Jersey
Cancer fund (SJCf)—a Brigan-
tine-based nonprofit organization
that has been providing aid to at-
lantic, Cape May and Cumberland
County cancer patients and their
families since 1964.
SJCf President Mary Crane at-
tended her first “Helping Our
Neighbors” Dinner this year, and
said she was highly impressed by
the generous backing the HCf re-
ceived from the community dur-
ing the event.
“it brings tears to my eyes to
see that a community has so much
Env. Comm.
meets and
reviews
Kramer
Beverage’s
expansion
TREE, from Page 3
breaking, to be able to do that.
Something that we talked about
for a long time—being able to re-
plant street trees and to plan addi-
tional street trees around town.
This is going to be just wonderful.
There are so many opportunities
for community input into it also,”
Bachalis said regarding the tree
bank.
in other business, the commis-
sion unanimously approved the
following tree removal applica-
tions during the meeting:
Leslie Esposito, 417 13th
Street—requesting the removal
of one large black oak tree with a
hollow base that is reportedly 85
inches in diameter. The applica-
tion was tabled during the com-
mission’s last meeting on
September 12 because the tree
was not marked. (a motion to ap-
prove the removal of the tree was
made by commission member an-
gela Donio, seconded by Caruso-
Cafiso and passed unanimously.
Hozik abstained from voting.).
Gary Mazza, 215 Winding
Way—requesting the removal of
one tree that is reportedly decay-
ing and located near a child’s bed-
room. (a motion to approve the
removal of the tree was made by
Menzel, seconded by Caruso-
Cafiso and passed unanimously.
The Hammonton environmen-
tal Commission’s next meeting
will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednes-
day November 14 in town hall.
support and love. i felt the love
when i walked in here. i felt a
warm feeling like they’re here be-
cause they’re genuine and they’re
sincere and they believe in helping
people with cancer,” Crane said.
Mauriello said between $13,000
and $15,000 has been raised dur-
ing the “Helping Our Neighbors”
Dinner each year. That money will
be used by the SJCf to help local
cancer patients and their families
in a multitude of ways, whether it
be covering the cost of prescrip-
tions, transportation, utilities,
medical supplies and more.
Mauriello personally experi-
enced the difficulties of cancer
when he was diagnosed with the
disease in 1993. He said he was
fortunate to have a strong support
system on his side during his can-
cer treatment, but realized that
there were many people battling
cancer who weren’t as fortunate
and needed extra help so they
could channel all of their energy
into winning the fight versus can-
cer.
“When this started for me, i
knew that we needed something
for an avenue to help other people.
i was fortunate; i had a great sup-
port system. i had great friends,
family. i didn’t have a worry other
than my health. There’s so many
people that lack that same support
system, that this can benefit them
greatly and unburden them, re-
lieve the stress and the anxiety and
let them focus on what they need
to do, and that’s getting better,”
Mauriello said.
Hammonton resident Julie Co-
munale was in attendance during
the “Helping Our Neighbors”
Dinner, less than two years re-
moved from her being diagnosed
with ovarian cancer. in addition to
a devoted contingency of friends
and family members who are con-
tinuously on hand to help her dur-
ing her treatment, Comunale was
also selected as one of the SJCf’s
benefactors through the HCf. Co-
munale said the support she re-
ceived from the HCf and the rest
of the community was touching,
and even changed her perspective
regarding when and how to reach
out to people battling cancer.
“People called just to talk. Be-
fore i got cancer, i would never
think to do that because i was
afraid of ‘maybe they don’t want
to talk about it,’ but i feel differ-
ently now. i would reach out to
somebody because it meant so
much to me … There’s a lot of
people out there to talk to, me
being one. i don’t have a problem
talking to anyone. i’ve met a few
people through support groups
that have helped me, and in turn
now, i help the new people,” Co-
munale said.
Mauriello said one of the main
reasons the HCf has been so well-
supported over the past 11 years is
because of the ubiquitous impact
that cancer has left on nearly
every family in the community,
which was demonstrated during
an audio/visual slideshow that
was played during the dinner to
honor the many Hammonton resi-
dents who are either battling can-
cer, beat cancer or succumbed to
it.
“i know i usually watch the
a/V ceremony probably eight to
10 times before i even get here be-
cause i like to reflect. i like to ap-
preciate all the people who have
made those sacrifices, who have
contributed to what we do and are
the reason why we do this. That
really touches our hearts and it’s
why it makes it easy for us to fill
the room every year because it
touches so many people’s hearts,”
Mauriello said.
There were forms of several en-
tertainment featured during the
“Helping Our Neighbors” Dinner,
including vocal performances by
zachary Taglioli, dance perform-
ances by the students of Dance
Magic dance studio and live DJ
music from DJ Joe flood. Ham-
monton native and local weather
forecaster Nick “Nor’easter
Nick” Pittman was the master of
ceremonies during the dinner.
Throughout the evening, Pittman
addressed the audience and often
provided laughs, but also gave a
speech about how cancer—while
a disease with many powerful and
depleting effects—has several
limitations when faced with love
and support like that shown by the
HCf and everyone who has do-
nated to their cause.
“Cancer cannot cripple love. it
cannot shatter hope or erode faith.
it cannot destroy peace or ruin
friendships. it cannot silence
courage or invade the soul. fi-
nally, and i think most important
of all, cancer cannot steal or sup-
press the fond memories we have
of our loved ones. i truly think
that one day, with the help of the
amazing organizations, such as
the Hammonton Cancer founda-
tion, we will find a cure to this dis-
ease. We will be triumphant and
conquer it once and for all,”
Pittman said.