Shore homeowners, businesses can donate vacation time to adult cancer patients and their loved ones

For Pete’s Sake, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of families battling cancer by providing respite vacations to adult cancer patients and their loved ones, is reaching out to Jersey Shore homeowners and businesses interested in donating their home and services for such purposes.

Photo via Google
The nonprofit helps those in need enjoy a
much-needed vacation at the Jersey Shore.

The group has been coordinating these types of trips along the East Coast and in the Caribbean for over 15 years. But as patient demand continues to outweigh the supply and availability of vacation homes, the need to have a local option has become evident.

“Right now, we help about 120 families each year, but we would help so many more if we could increase our supply of donated vacation homes and services,” said Marci Schankweiler, founder and chief executive officer of For Pete’s Sake, who established the organization in memory of her husband, Peter R. Bossow Jr., whose 15-month battle with cancer ended on Sept. 1, 1999. “We’re calling on our neighbors at the Jersey Shore to open their hearts, homes and businesses so that we can support and change even more lives.”

Playing off the iconic Jersey Shore name, the organization’s recently introduced website, thejerseyshare.org, provides prospective givers with information on how they can play a role, including donating a week or a long weekend at their Jersey Shore vacation home.

But the goal of the effort is more than just passing on information, of course.

“We’re truly hoping to create a groundswell of love and goodwill,” said Amber Mercado, FPS marketing officer. “And the process of getting involved is so easy. Our team takes care of every detail.”

Since its inception, FPS has served more than 5,500 patients and their families by providing respites to Florida, the Poconos, West Virginia, the Jersey Shore, the Carolinas, Maine and the Caribbean.

To learn more about the effort, or to get involved, visit takeabreakfromcancer.org.

— Kelley Anne Essinger


This article was published in The SandPaper.