The Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation was formed as a local nonprofit to strengthen the deep connections that exist between the Coast Guard and the region. There is a long and meaningful history between the county and the Coast Guard. Beginning in 1849, twelve Life Saving Stations graced our shores. In the nineteenth century, revenue cutters, ships dispatched by the Secretary of the Treasury to collect duties on ships and goods, were stationed at Cape May. Patrol boats operated out of the Sewell’s Point foiled rum-runners off the Jersey Coast during Prohibition. During World War II, Coast Guard mounted beach patrols rode the beaches of all of Cape May County’s barrier islands and walked them with German Shepherds to monitor for suspicious activity.
Cape May County was designated as a Coast Guard Community in 2015, one of a select number of cities and counties in the nation. The “Coast Guard Community” designation is earned by making special efforts to acknowledge the professional work of the Coast Guard men and women assigned to their area. Coast Guard Communities regularly reach out to Coast Guard personnel and their families and make them feel at home in their “home away from home.” The County’s efforts illustrate the longstanding and enduring relationship with an emphasis on considerations the community has made for the members of the Coast Guard family.
The Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation strives to honor Coast Guard men and women who serve our country and celebrate the county’s designation as a Coast Guard Community.
