Over 100 area residents
from 16 organizations gathered at the Interpretive
Center at Island Beach
State Park on Saturday,
May 3rd for the fourth Annual JOIN HANDS DAY.
Sponsored by Thrivent
Financial for Lutherans, Ocean County Chapter and the Friends of Island Beach
State Park the group dug gardens, created a pathway, spread mulch and topsoil,
and planted more than three hundred trees, shrubs, bushes, grasses and flowers
indigenous to the 12 mile state parks unique environment. Some of the younger volunteers
scoured the nearby beach for debris The State Park System has been on Governor
Jon Corzine's list of places to save money.
"It's unbelievable to
see what this group of volunteers can achieve in a few short hours." said
Rev. Gary N. Stiegler, volunteer organizer for the event.
"This kind of a turnout on a misty and cold morning in May shows that the
people of Ocean County care about their park" Members from several Lutheran
churches in the county were joined by Boy Scouts, cub scouts, church groups,
and scores of individual families just wanting to help make a difference to the
environment and the park. "We even had a family visiting from Maryland who pitched in
and helped." Stiegler said.
The Interpretive
Center is located 7 miles south of the
main gate of the park and is the home for exhibits and displays showing samples
of the flora, fauna, and wildlife on the Island.
JOIN HANDS DAY is an
outgrowth of the "thousands points of Light" program that was initiated
to organized volunteer organizations in 1993 and is the only national day of
service that specifically targets and develops relationships between young
people and adults through neighborhood volunteering. Young people and adults
work together on an equal basis to plan, organize and
implement the day's activities.
"We hope that more and
more people would mark their calendars for the first weekend of May in 2009 and
plan to JOIN HANDS again to help keep Island Beach State Park the treasure that
it is for all the people of Ocean County and New Jersey." Stiegler said.
