Home Runs for Heroes Helps Troops

Rain did little to dampen the patriotic spirit as the Lakewood BlueClaws hosted Military Appreciation Night on Thursday, June 23.

Nonprofit organizations, active military personnel and their families and the entire BlueClaws community came together to see the local team take on the Delmarva Shorebirds and to show appreciation for the sacrifices made by the fighting men and women of the United States Armed Forces.

An Army Blackhawk helicopter did a brief flyover before landing outside the park, where eager onlookers were given the opportunity to tour the aircraft.

Taking center stage at the game was the OceanFirst Foundation's Home Runs for Heroes fundraiser.

At each home BlueClaws game, a local military-based charity group is assigned to each of the nine innings. Every time a BlueClaws player hits a home run, $1,000 is donated to the charity with which that inning is associated.

The OceanFirst Foundation, established by OceanFirst Bank, began the Home Runs for Heroes Program in 2009 and donated $24,000 to nine charities that year. In 2010, the group donated $30,000 and so far this year, they've already handed out $18,000 in donations, putting them on target for a record-breaking $36,000 season.

Vito Nardelli, President of OceanFirst Bank, remained upbeat, despite the weather.

"Tradition has it that every year, it rains," he joked.

Nardelli, who threw out the game's ceremonial first pitch, explained the background of the Home Runs for Heroes Program. 

"We were thinking of ways in which we can help the troops, in station and deploy and their families as well," Nardelli said. "We struggled with how to do that."

"We struck upon an idea to use our relationship with the BlueClaws here," he added.

OceanFirst, which serves Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties, wanted to be sure that the donated money was spent locally, providing aid to the communities of which the bank is a part.

In addition, the OceanFirst Foundation wanted to provide aid to the charitable organizations in the form of increased publicity and awareness for their cause.

"We were looking for ways to make sure that the organizations could get more exposure," Jill Apito Hewitt, Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing for OceanFirst, said. "We wanted to give them the resources where they could tell their story and maybe identify people that needed help."

A partnership with radio station 92.7 WOBM has made it possible for each of the charities involved in Home Runs for Heroes to be interviewed on the WOBM morning show. 

"They're able to tell their story and get the word out about what they do," Hewitt added.

One group that has benefited from Home Runs for Heroes is the Toms River-based American Recreational Military Services (ARMS), the designated recipient of funds raised during the fifth inning.

For ARMS volunteer Ken Springer, the idea of helping military men and women and their families hits close to home.

Springer was a Captain in the United States Marine Corps from 1962 to 1968 and served in the Vietnam War.

The organization sponsors and takes part in a variety of recreational and morale boosting activities for active military and veterans, but their primary effort is collecting and shipping care packages to troops overseas. 

"It means that we can continue to do our good work, it means we can continue to support our troops," Springer said of the support ARMS receives from Home Runs for Heroes.

"Those guys are over there risking their lives for us and it's important that we step up and show them a little support," Springer added.

ARMS had tables set up at the entrance to FirstEnergy Park, where they gladly accepted donations from members of the public. The group sends convenience and comfort items to deployed military including toiletries and personal care items, reading materials, snack foods and drinks.

Home Runs for Heroes is one piece of a larger philanthropic picture for the OceanFirst Foundation.

After OceanFirst Bank went public 15 years ago, roughly $13 million of the money earned during the initial public offering was used to establish the OceanFirst Foundation. 

Since then, the foundation has used that principal, with help from dividends, stock splits and bank earnings, to pump an average of $2 million per year back into local communities by way of charitable donation.

"That's a lot of money for Monmouth, Ocean and Middlesex counties," Nardelli said. "I think, for a bank our size, that's a substantial amount that goes back into the community."

While no home runs were hit en route to a 3-0 BlueClaws loss, there are still 34 home games left in the regular season.