For the 20th year, our sister station 105.7 The Hawk is dedicating a week to help Ocean of Love, an Ocean County-based group that assists children and their families dealing with childhood cancer.  Most of you I’m sure are familiar with this wonderful organization which provides financial and emotional support to those who not only have to cope with the reality of cancer striking a child but often the mounting bills and expenses that accompany the horrors of this terrible disease.

Every October The Hawk goes all-in to raise money for Ocean of Love and for the 11th time on-air personality Andy Chase is living on top of a billboard until he reaches the goal of raising $105,700.  It’s actually not a billboard although it was in the early years of this annual effort.  Consider it a large scaffold 30 feet high in the Target/Lowe’s parking lot on Hooper Avenue in Toms River.  Andy spends his time in a 20 x 7-foot area that does not have any of the comforts of home and while it’s been nice and dry this week it does get pretty cool.  He went up Monday at 5 p.m. and won’t come down until Friday around 6pm…that is if he and the radio station reach their goal.

$105,700 is a big number and while there has been and will be some big donations what makes this such an awesome effort is the many smaller ones.  People come from all over to make a personal contribution with some bringing jars filled with change, often collected by schools and other groups.

Those heartfelt efforts are what not only inspires Andy but the Ocean of Love volunteers for whom dealing with childhood cancer is not a once a year thing but a 24/7 challenge.

There are several ways in which you can donate this week and the first of which is to stop by and make your donation in person.  If that won’t work then you can go online at 1057thehawk.com or call (732) 505-1057.  While Andy is the focal point of this radiothon it would not be possible without Ted Maturo, our Director of Marketing who helped create this event two decades ago and has helped spearhead the effort to raise close to $2 million over the years for Ocean of Love.

Cancer sucks and childhood cancer sucks even more.  Ocean of Love can’t cure a sick child but they can ease some of the pain associated with the disease.  Give whatever you can.

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