As our Hurricane Sandy relief efforts became more mild, we needed to transition our focus for initiatives and donations. We naturally chose the youth, or Future Leaders within our community. We continued our scholarship program, got food and clothing to students in need (St. Francis Gift of Warmth, SR Food Bank, etc.), and eventually developed our Future Leaders Enterpreneurship program at Southern Regional High School. Business electives were struggling in comparison to the arts and after school sports, so we decided to make them more attractive. Students in the Entrepreneurship elective sections would form groups and work through the product life cycle of a t-shirt. We visit the classes on a monthly basis to provide guidance and the students learn about design, marketing, sales, and all of the aspects of small business by producing their own, tangible products. Additionally, we add a charitable component by allowing them to choose a cause for their sales proceeds. Effectively, our donation produces additional donations to charitable groups within the school system.

One of the major things that we learned through our disaster relief experience was to pick up those around us. This is not to say that we choose winners and losers, but that we understand the impossibility of helping everyone. We focus on those in need who are a part of our tribe -- they are active community members who volunteer their time and pay it forward. We have (2) major events dedicated to fundraising for individuals in our community: Eskimo Outreach & Crabbin' for a Cure.

The Long Beach Island Region isn't far from Philadelphia & New York City where the arts are abundant. Some of our initiatives and donations are focused on bringing art, photography, film, theatre, and in general, rich cultural experiences to our area. We have financed (2) documentaries (Landfall: The Eyes of Sandy and The Oyster Farmers), both of which have spawned numerous fundraising and social events. We support original music and creatives that lend a hand to helping us raise funds.

We believe strongly in working together with other nonprofits and community organizations. We may have led the Sandy Relief Unite + Rebuild campaign, but there were certainly several groups right behind us that hyper-focused on what they were good at, and used their strengths to get group goals accomplished. We currently work with several groups in order to execute our defined initiatives.

We have always been attentive to beautifying our environment and keeping it healthy. In 2017, we released The Oyster Farmers to spread awareness regarding bay stewardship. We've also launched the Oyster Recycling Program, an initiative that supports the first manmade reef in the southern Barnegat Bay and gives you a hand in helping us revitalize the health of our local waters. The Jetty brand is heavily tied to watermen and our love of the water -- we find it our duty to keep our coastal waters clean.