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MONROE: Make-A-Wish ‘re-charges’ spirits after Sandy

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   MONROE — Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey opened its doors to provide a break from Hurricane Sandy and host a ‘Re-charge Your Batteries, Re-Charge Your Spirit at the Samuel & Josephine Plumeri Wishing Place, fondly referred to as ‘the Castle’ on Nov. 9.
   ”There are lots of relief centers that are open and have been open and they are doing great work and people are going there to recharge their batteries for their phones and their iPods and their iPads and their tablets,” said Tom Weatherall, President and CEO of Make-A-Wish Foundation of New Jersey. “Today we open our castle to for you to come here to recharge your spirit, to refuel the soul, and to leave here with some smiles. So welcome to our castle.”
   Word spread through Facebook, family and friends and Jersey Shore Hurricane News as more than 500 people arrived at the facility to enjoy a family, ‘re-charge the soul, re-fuel their spirits, fun filled day where guests could participate in children’s activities, snacks and refreshments, entertainment and a chance to take a behind-the scenes tour of the castle.
   ”We’re a tough state, aren’t we?,” Mr. Weatherall said to the crowd. “We’ve been through a lot but not knocked out.”
   Kids screamed “Yeah” from the audience.
   Mr. Weatherall continued addressing the audience, “The toughest kids from the world come from New Jersey, (and) here at Make-A-Wish we sure know that’s true.”
   When he asked the audience why the facility opened after the storm, several children provided a wide range of answers.
   ”We here at Make-A-Wish could not agree more with these answers,” Mr. Weatherall said. “That’s why we opened the castle for exactly those answers and we are thinking about our fellow New Jerseyians today.”
   While not a relief agency like the Red Cross, Mr. Weatherall said opening the castle would be a help to fellow residents of the state and give them a chance to have a break from the aftermath of last month’s storm.
   Mr. Weatherall said the idea of opening the castle doors to the public was inspired by a Wish Mom.
   ”She reminded me of her own child who was facing adversity and the greatest kind of adversity and we know at Make-A-Wish is that these kinds of children inspire us and the people that they meet and the medical community as well,” Mr. Weatherall said. “And she said ‘how about we open that castle and share some of that inspiration with the greater New Jersey community.’”
   Jennifer Rice of Toms River found out about the event through Facebook and brought her son Jackson, 6, to take “a break” from things. She was playing a game of checkers at the time with her son at the event.
   ”These have to be the nicest people in the world,” Ms. Rice said. “He’s been out of school for two weeks so it was a nice break for him. We have power, we’re lucky but my family was (still) affected. We were very, very lucky.”
   For some guests, coming to the castle was more than about having fun, it was also about making connections for their kids about where “wishes came alive.”
   ”It was fabulous,” said Laura Bergen of Point Pleasant, a teacher in the Freehold School District. “We weren’t that badly affected. A lot of friends of ours lost their homes. We’ve been volunteering in town. This is just a little bit of a break for them because I have been pulling her here and there volunteering and taking care of our neighbors and just giving her (daughter) a little bit of fun.”
   Ms. Bergen said that along with her friend, Stacie Kajewski they have been volunteering and donating goods to help their community anyway they could. Their school is currently flooded.
   ”We’re alive, our families are alive,” said Stacie Kajewski of Point Pleasant. “We’re resilient. We take care of each other. Our community has come together.”
   Ms. Kajewski said she was familiar with the organization and what it has done for others.
   ”I want our kids to see what this was because I had a student that actually received a wish last year and that’s why we did the walk, we did it in his memory,” Ms. Kajewski said who is a social worker at a school. “I wanted my kids to see where the wish came alive and just to kind of pay back. It’s an amazing organization.”
   For others, it was the first visit to the castle, which opened last year.
   ”I think it was a great experience to see how it really works – the castle, the inspiration room,the wishing room and it gives the kids an insight of what really happens here,” said Jackie Arce ofSpotswood. “My kids of haven been off school for two weeks now. They were excited to come and see this because they haven’t seen the castle before.”
   It was a special day for Billy Thurman who got to celebrate his sixth birthday at the castle. Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to him and he got to go up on stage with the Medieval Queen and King from Medieval Times, as well as perform some magic tricks with Tom Durnin, who was finalist on America’s Got Talent, as he performed during his Magic Show.
   ”I love it,” said Billy Thurman of Matawan.
   ”It’s amazing,” said mom Cathy Thurman of Matawan. “It’s a wonderful event for these children. I walked in and it was like ‘Wow’. It’s like being at Disney.”