Best Day offers special needs kids an opportunity to have their best day

July 11, 2008 | By valmg |

The good news that I found this week and want to share is taking place in Sea Bright, NJ which is not far from me, about a half an hour away. The nonprofit organization called the Best Day Foundation has announced that it is holding a two day beach camp especially for special needs children. To some that might not sound like a big deal, but for many of these children it’s the first time they’ll ever get to be on the beach or in the water.
The two day camp will be held July 19-20 at Monmouth County’s 7 Presidents Oceanfront Park. Planned activities include a marine safety demonstration, stretching, sand obstacle course, body boarding, kayaking, tandem surfing, a hot lunch, and an awards ceremony. Registration must be done on the Best Day Foundation website by clicking the Get Involved - Participate link.

The Best Day Foundation’s mission is to provide “safe, life-changing beach days to children with special needs, regardless of their challenges.” The Foundation set up it’s first chapter here in Sea Bright, NJ which is in Monmouth County. The Sea Bright chapter will be run by Alexis Leaman, a special education teacher, and Lake Downham, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer and life-long surfer, both of whom reside in the area.

If you want to get an idea what Best Day is all about you’ve got to watch the video. It brought tears to my eyes to see what these people are doing for the kids. Equipment was donated by Ride A Wave. A starter crew of twelve volunteers from Ride A Wave is coming in from California (most at their own expense) to help man the events and train the rest of the volunteers. Area residents are encouraged to volunteer by going to the Best Day website and clicking on the Get Involved - Volunteer link. If you aren’t in the area but would like to help you can make a donation on the website. These programs are free for all special needs children and they aren’t cheap to keep going.

This is by far the best news I’ve heard today. I think it’s awesome what Best Day is trying to do here. I hope the first beach day is a huge success and the kids have a lot of fun. I hope the time at the beach does turn out to be “the best day” for all of the families.