Sharing a Thank You Note from Camp Kesem

The Board of Directors were humbled and thrilled by the note we received from the leaders of Camp Kesem this week. We are excited to share with our Crabfest Community. See below, along with a photo of the two camp counselors from Camp Kesem who spoke at Crabfest earlier this month:

Dear Debra,
 

I just wanted to reach out to you and the entire board of Stad's Crabfest directly to tell you how excited I was to hear that you had raised $15,000! When we heard the final count, Mikaela and I were both brought to tears. I cannot begin to explain how much it means to our organization, not just for this year's session, but also for the long term stability of Camp Kesem Princeton. I sincerely appreciate all of your efforts. It means so much to me that you all are so dedicated to our organization and others like it that seek to help those affected by cancer. It was such a pleasure getting to know you and everyone else at the event. I had a great time at dinner, and the seafood was delicious. 

I look forward to possibly seeing some of the members of the board for the official check presentation. Until then, enjoy the rest of your summer, and please send everyone my best. Thank you again for everything.

Warm Regards,

Jack Finlay

 

Stad's Crabfest raises $15,000 for Camp Kesem and gives $5,000 to Pathways Cooks at 12th Annual Crabfest

Dear Crabfest Community:

A little more than a week ago, we gathered together, enjoyed a feast from the sea (and Italy), competed for silent auction items, made funny faces in the photo booth, and danced (or swayed) to the music of DJ Jason.

Most importantly, because of your awesome generosity, I am pleased to announce that we will be making a gift of $15,000 to this year’s primary recipient, Camp Kesem!  We cannot thank you enough for your support and look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.  Attached is the 2017 group photo. (We went with the “fun” one this year).

For those who did not attend this year, I am happy to report that we also made a gift at this year’s event to one of our prior recipients, Pathways Cooks, based on donations we had received during the past year.  So, if you have not donated yet, we ask that you consider making a donation now to help us support others in need before next year’s event. (see http://www.stadscrabfest.org/donate/).  Thanks for your consideration.

Enjoy the rest of the summer and don’t forget to send us pictures wearing your Stad’s t-shirts so we can post them on our Facebook page!

Sincerely,

Stad

Date and Primary Donation Recipient for the 12th Annual Stad's Crabfest

The 12th Annual Crabfest Celebration will take place on Saturday, July 15th at St. Helen's Church in Westfield, NJ.

This year’s primary donation recipient is Camp Kesem, a week-long summer camp experience run by volunteer Princeton University students for children who have a parent diagnosed with cancer. For more information see: www.campkesem.org/princeton.

All Crabfest guests are asked to make a meaningful donation at the event. Kindly make your checks payable to “Stad’s Crabfest Inc.” We will also have the ability to process donations via credit card at the event. Please consider increasing your donation this year and/or taking advantage of any Matching Gift program that your employer may offer. 

This year, we are adding new activities to the event, including a photo booth and a silent auction! Please be sure to bring your checkbook or a credit card to the event so you can bid on popular auction items!

Thank you for your friendship and generous support of our mission. We look forward to an evening of philanthropy, food, and fun on July 15th!

Sincerely,

Bill Baton, President; Debbi Judd, Vice President and Corresponding Secretary; Nancy Baton, Recording Secretary; Frank Korn, Treasurer; Sydney Dickey, Board Member; David Judd, Board Member, Mark Young, Board Member

Date and Donation Recipient Set for the 11th Annual Stad's Crabfest!

Dear Friends of Stad’s Crabfest,

The date is set! Saturday, July 16, 2016, at 6:00 PM will be our 11th Annual Stad’s Crabfest Celebration.

We are excited to announce that this year’s donation recipient is Mary’s Place by the Sea, an ocean-side retreat in Ocean Grove, New Jersey for women receiving cancer treatment. Mary’s Place is a non-denominational, non-profit organization whose mission is to support women battling cancer by providing integrative services, such as nutrition education, oncology massages, counseling, reflexology, journaling, yoga and guided meditation, which complement their medical treatment and empower, educate and support their healing of mind, body and soul. Mary’s Place just built a new, larger facility to accommodate their long waiting list. There is no charge for the women who recuperate there.

Mary’s Place has provided a much-needed respite for many women for the past seven years, including a beloved member of our Crabfest Community, who spent some time recovering at Mary’s Place and introduced us to this wonderful organization. For more information, see:www.marysplacebythesea.org.

With its new, larger facility, the needs of Mary’s Place are significant. We plan to provide a substantial contribution to the organization to help meet some of these needs. Therefore, we are asking everyone to consider increasing their donations this year. In addition to increasing personal contributions, please look into taking advantage of any Matching Gift program that your employer may offer. If you haven’t already done so, please investigate your company’s policy.

As always, we are grateful for your friendship and generous support. We look forward to seeing you for a fun-filled evening on July 16!

Sincerely,

Stad’s Crabfest Inc. Board of Directors

End of Year Greetings from Stad's Crabfest

Dear Friends of Stad's Crabfest:

As the year comes to a close, we write to thank you for supporting Stad’s Crabfest in 2015. Because of your kind generosity, Stad’s Crabfest was able to provide new medical carts to The Center for Hope Hospice, which provides hospice and palliative care, as well as emotional support for families through counseling at two Union County locations.

In addition, because you helped us exceed our fundraising goal this year, we were able to provide additional financial support to past Crabfest recipients, Emmanuel Cancer Foundation, Sister Pat's Kids Camp, Liam's Room, and Pathways Cooks, as these local charitable organizations continue to assist families who are navigating life with a loved one suffering from cancer.

For more information or if you would like to make an end of year tax-deductible contribution, please visit our website at www.stadscrabfest.org and click on the "Donate" link at the top of the page. 

We look forward to continuing to fulfill our mission of enhancing the quality of life of those affected by cancer in 2016 and beyond.  Warm wishes for a Happy New Year! 

Stad's Crabfest Inc.

William C. Baton, President

Debra L. Judd, Vice President

Frank Korn, Treasurer

Mark S. Young, Secretary

Nancy L. Baton, Board Member

Sydney E. Dickey, Board Member

David Judd, Board Member

www.stadscrabfest.org

Thank you for a successful 10th Annual Stad's Crabfest!

Dear Stad's Crabfest Community:

On behalf of the Board, please accept our heartfelt thanks for participating in Stad's 10th Annual Crabfest and for your continued support of our mission.  The generosity you showed this year is awe-inspiring, and once again, the event was a joyous community building experience.  We are happy to report that, because of you, The Center For Hope will get the medical carts that we were hoping to make possible.  In fact, we exceeded that goal.  As a result, Stad's Crabfest Inc. will be able to fulfill additional needs in our community to enhance the quality of life of those affected by cancer.

Attached is a group photo that was taken near the end of the July 11th event.  There are approximately 1/3 of the attendees missing from this photo.  We plan to take the group photo earlier at the event next year and hope that you will be there to say "cheese!" (or as some exclaimed this year, "crabs!").

We look forward to hearing from you.  Please visit our webpage (www.stadscrabfest.org) and join our Facebook group page, where you may upload photos from this year's event, prior Crabfest events, or photos of you wearing your Crabfest t-shirt anywhere in the world.  Have a great summer and please keep in touch.  

Sincerely,

Bill "Stad" Baton

10th Annual Stad's Crabfrest - Saturday, July 11th, 2015 - Save the Date!

Dear Friends of Stad's Crabfest,

The 10th Annual Stad's Crabfest will be held on Saturday, July 11th! Feel free to check out our website, www.stadscrabfest.org, from time to time for updates and other information.

We are pleased to announce that, for this year's event, our Board has chosen to sponsor The Center for Hope Hospice.  Specifically, Stad’s Crabfest will be making a significant donation directly to The Center for Hope toward the purchase of new medical carts, to meet specific needs in the care of its patients (funds raised in excess of the amount needed to purchase the medical carts will go into our general fund towards the continued fulfillment of our mission).  Consistent with our evolution from a backyard party to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, this year we will be asking you to make a donation directly to Stad’s Crabfest to help us fulfill our mission of raising awareness and enhancing the quality of life of those affected by cancer.

As many of you are aware, The Center for Hope provides hospice and palliative care to terminally ill patients, as well as emotional support for their families through counseling, at two Union County locations.  However, you might be surprised to learn that The Center for Hope also offers onsite nursing home and offsite home care to the non-terminal as well as a residential assisted living program for medically fragile individuals.  We hope you will join us in July as we support this important local organization.

Although Crabfest is still more than 3 months away, together, we are already fulfilling our mission.  Due to the generosity of several in our Crabfest community who made early donations, Stad's Crabfestrecently made a substantial donation to a local family.  Darren and Stacy Lederman and their two children live in Westfield, and Darren is battling acute myeloid leukemia.  He has undergone multiple treatments and hospitalization and will require a bone marrow transplant.  As medical and other bills are accumulating, we were moved to act now.  For more information or to make a personal donation of your own, please visit the family's fundraising website: www.youcaring.com/search.aspx?keywords=Lederman.

Also, please consider attending the family's bone marrow drive on Sunday, March 29 from 2:00-5:00 p.m. at the JCC of Central New Jersey, 1391 Martine Avenue, Scotch Plains.  At the drive, potential donors will provide a sample of cells through a simple and painless Q-tip swab inside the cheek.  The sample will be analyzed and catalogued on the national “Be The Match Registry,” that Darren’s doctors and others can access to search for a compatible donor.  For more information please visit:www.bethematch.org.   

Thank you for your friendship and support.  We look forward to celebrating our 10th year of Crabfestwith you on July 11th!

Best regards,

Stad's Crabfest Inc.

Bill Baton, President

Debbi Judd, Vice President

Frank Korn, Treasurer

Mark Young, Secretary

Nancy Baton, Board Member

Sydney Dickey, Board Member

David Judd, Board Member

www.stadscrabfest.org

Announcing Launch of Stad's Crabfest Inc. 501(c)(3) and Organization Website

January 19th, 2015

Dear Friends of Stad's Crabfest,

On this national day of service, as we look forward to this year's 10th annual Stad's Crabfest and gratefully reflect on the accomplishments you have made possible, we write to thank you for your continued support and to share some important news.

We are proud to announce that Stad's Crabfest Inc. is now a New Jersey nonprofit corporation and a recognized 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization.  Because of your kind generosity and support, Stad's Crabfest has grown from a small backyard BBQ to an annual event with more than 100 participants.  To accommodate this growth and to efficiently and effectively continue our charitable mission, as mentioned at last year's Crabfest, we followed through with formalizing our organization and obtained tax exempt status.  We are excited for this next step as we continue to grow and fulfill our mission of raising awareness and enhancing the quality of life of those affected by cancer.

In an effort to keep you informed and connected throughout the year, we created a website where you can find information, view photos, ask questions and even make an online donation.  Please visit our new website at www.stadscrabfest.org and let us know what you think.  Check back from time to time for the latest news on our plans for this year as well as the accomplishments of our past donation recipients.  We always welcome your input and suggestions regarding the implementation of our mission, worthy recipients and even suggestions for activities at the annual event.  Please feel free to contact any of our Board members.

We truly appreciate your friendship, support and your commitment to our growing community.

Best regards,

Stad's Crabfest Inc.

Bill Baton, President

Debbi Judd, Vice President

Frank Korn, Treasurer

Mark Young, Secretary

Nancy Baton, Board Member

Sydney Dickey, Board Member

David Judd, Board Member