The Coal House Launches "Think Pink" Fundraiser for Cancer Concern Center

In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, The Coal House will host a “Think Pink” fundraiser for the Cancer Concern Center of Point Pleasant Beach.

The Cancer Concern Center helps cancer survivors from all over northern Ocean and southern Monmouth counties and has volunteers from across the region as well. The center has no paid staff and relies solely on volunteers and donations to keep running.

In October, The Coal House will donate $1 for every lunch patron at its two locations – Point Pleasant Beach and Wall. In addition, The Coal House will sell promotional T-shirts for $10 and donate all the proceeds to the Cancer Concern Center.

This is the second year that The Coal House has organized a fundraiser for the Cancer Concern Center.

In 2011, Paul Ippolito, an owner of The Coal House and a Brick resident, decided he wanted to support a small charity that truly needed help, as opposed to a national organization not tied to the local community.

Co-owner Billy Hoffman, a Point Pleasant native and member of the Bay Head Police Department, immediately recommended the Cancer Concern Center.

Hoffman serves on the Board of Directors for the Cancer Concern Center and has been an ardent supporter of the organization for years. Both Ippolito and another co-owner of The Coal House, Point Pleasant Beach resident Anthony Abdy, have experienced cancer in their families.

"As a team, when we thought about a local charity, the Cancer Concern Center came to mind right away," Hoffman shares. "We knew it was the perfect fit for The Coal House. The Cancer Concern Center doesn't get any major donations. Instead, they string together all the small donations from town and put them toward local programs. Everyone at the Cancer Concern Center lives in the area; they're our neighbors."

"Ever since we opened The Coal House in the Beach and expanded to Wall," Ippolito explains, "local residents have been huge supporters. In tough economic times, we know it's a big deal to go to a restaurant on a regular basis. We don't take that for granted at The Coal House. That's why we really wanted to give back to a local charity that impacts the lives of the people who are our devoted customers."

The Cancer Concern Center focuses exclusively on women and men with cancer who live in Northern Ocean and Southern Monmouth County. With a core group of volunteers, the Cancer Concern Center offers support groups, meditation and yoga classes, nutritional workshops, and new wigs to local residents regardless of their ability to pay.

Far from an affluent organization, the Cancer Concern Center has no paid staff and minimal overhead, utilizing donations for client programs instead of administration.

Ever since its founding in 1998, the Cancer Concern Center has been an independent non-profit run by breast cancer survivors: Lori Jeffries of Point Pleasant and Jill McDonough of Lavallette. They envisioned a warm and welcoming setting that didn’t feel like a hospital – a convenient place for women and men with cancer to discuss their condition, access resources, receive non-judgmental support, and rejuvenate their spirit.

According to volunteer office manager Lisa Montalbano, a Point Pleasant Beach resident, “The Cancer Concern Center is thrilled to be the beneficiary of ‘Think Pink’ at The Coal House. We look forward to joining our friends and family at The Coal House for lunch and thank the owners, from the bottom of our hearts, for their generosity.”

The Coal House is located at 710 Arnold Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach (732-899-4400 phone) and 2100 Route 35, Sea Girt Square, in Wall (732-359-8400 phone).

For more information on the Cancer Concern Center, which is located at 1101 Richmond Avenue in Point Pleasant Beach, please call 732-701-0250 or like the Cancer Concern Center on Facebook.

The mission of the Cancer Concern Center is to provide emotional support and wellness programs to women and men affected by cancer. The Cancer Concern Center was the first non-profit to offer support services to adults with cancer in Northern Ocean County.

It is a member of the Ocean Medical Center’s Coalition for Cancer Survivorship. All contributions to the Cancer Concern Center are tax-deductible and utilized for local cancer support programs.