Honoring Coast Guard members and their families
The Cape May County Coast Guard Community Foundation provides programs to honor Coast Guard personnel and their families and create a vibrant and welcoming “hometown” for them in Cape May County.
Our nonprofit’s main program is the annual Coast Guard Community Week. The inaugural Coast Guard Community Festival was held in 2015 to celebrate Cape May County’s designation as a Coast Guard Community. Our programs expanded in 2018 to include hosting the Southern New Jersey Coast Guard Ball in partnership with the United States Coast Guard. The schedule of events increased to a full week in 2019 during our Spring shoulder season, with the Coast Guard Ball held on the last Saturday in April and the Coast Guard Community Festival held on the first Saturday in May. We have added local events throughout Cape May County to create a week-long celebration of the Coast Guard’s importance to the region and to align with merchants and tourist activities.
We have also provided a variety of programs that have had a positive impact on the Coast Guard members and their families in our community. These include the following:
- A portion of the funds from the festival support the USCG Training Center Cape May’s Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) branch to provide leisure programs and services to improve the quality of life of Service members and their families.
- Active duty military lunch vouchers for attendees at the annual Coast Guard Community Festival in appreciation for their service
- Free ice cream for Coast Guard members and their families at the Coast Guard Day celebration held at USCG Training Center Cape May
- Contribution to the commissioning celebrations for new Fast Response Cutters which are homeported in Cape May including the USCGC Lawrence Lawson, Rollin Fritch, and Angela McShan
- Partnering with the Jersey Cape Military Spouses to provide financial seminars for Coast Guard families
- Donation to support the building of the Enlisted Memorial at USCG Training Center Cape May
- Donation to the Jersey Cape Military Spouses Club to develop an online course to help Coast Guard spouses navigate life in the military
- Established a Community Activity program which reimburses Coast Guard families for the registration fees for community activity programs
We will continue to identify programs that will meet the needs of Coast Guard members and their families in our community.
