JerseyLove Social Media For Social Good Trip

The Social Media for Good #JerseyLove retreat is being sponsored by D6 Sports and Caesar’s Entertainment. This includes accommodations, meals and transportation. All opinions are my own.

And, we are off to a wonderful weekend of Social Media for Social Good #SoGo to shine our light and love to New Jersey’s Beaches after Hurricane Sandy left a lot of dark days for much of the Jersey Shore.

We spent our first full day in Belmar, one of the worst hit beach towns by Hurricane Sandy! D’Jais, Belmar’s popular nightlife spot, hosted our group for the day. I didn’t know they got super crafty after suffering severe damage from Hurricane Sandy. They thought of the fabulous idea to sell pieces of the damaged dance floor to those that danced the night away many times in the past and would cherish owning this memorabilia from this happening night life dance spot. Many people bought up the pieces of the old dance floor (hey if I had super memories from D’jais like meeting my sweetie there or lots of summer fun night’s out, I would have been waiting to purchase a piece of my past too). D’Jais raised $20,000 to donate to Belmar’s Sandy Relief Fund. They hosted a delicious day for our day at Belmar Beach. I can’t wait to go back in the evening and check out that new dance floor in my dancing shoes!

While in Belmar, we were treated to surf lessons from Hangten and got a sneak peak at the surfskimmer which is a creative new product that just launched, designed by D6 Sports available just in time for our summer fun! I especially loved this summer beach product because it helps children of all ages shred the waves close to the shore, much like a skimboard but with a sturdy handle for our children to feel secure as they begin skimming, making us parents feel more comfortable letting the little ones try skimboarding safely. And, it’s not over once they feel confident in their new skills. Once the child or adult (ahem, I would like to learn too) is secure in their skimboarding skills, the surfskimmer has a removable handle (much like removing training wheels from bicycles) so  this entry level skimboard becomes a traditional skimboard .

I have a D6 Surfskimmer coupon code for you: jerseylove will get you 20% off a surfskimmer for your little one or for a summer birthday gift idea (this is what I intend on doing…shhh, don’t tell the little ones with Summer birthdays in my life). Honestly I believe in D6′s creative new product that is fun and builds confidence in children so much that if D6 would ask me to fly around to beach destinations throughout our country or other countries, I would show parents along the shorelines everywhere how they can feel at ease while their little ones learn to skimboard safely with the surfskimmer. Hey, D6 would probably get some amazing footage too! But, they would have to send me to each destination with hundreds of surfskimmers to sell, because you know once I give a few children this product to go shred some surf, the rest of the children on the beach are going to want to join in on the fun immediately! Plus, it will create such a stir, I’m sure the local shop owners are going to want a supply for their shelves before I leave town. Because they know parents are going to think this new cool summer fun beach product must have been purchased at the local surf shop. We couldn’t leave the surf shops empty handed like that, setting them up for disappointing so many children would just be sad!

Even before participating in the first of its kind #SoGo event (Social Media for Social Good), I’ve always volunteered and have been heavily involved in my community through local volunteering and community service projects for humanity in general, so of course I jumped at the opportunity to participate in the #JerseyLove Retreat designed to bring awareness to the Jersey Shore in order to revitalize New Jersey’s economy, a state heavily supported by the summer economy of beach goers. The major mission of this service project was to help stimulate the economy by letting the online audiences of the bloggers in attendance from New Jersey Digital Moms & Social Media Moms know the New Jersey Beaches ARE open for business this summer, AND they are better than ever thanks to people like, Mayor Matt from Belmar NJ finding a silver lining in Sandy’s aftermath.

Belmar Beach has been on my radar for years, but its actually making me consider not having to leave New Jersey for a great family beach vacation destination. He has created better beaches that are more mom friendly with cleaner, bigger bathrooms and has plans which include showers in the near future at New Jersey’s Belmar Beach. I quote Major Matt in his speech to our group, “We want Belmar to be known as the Mom’s Beach”. So, this mayor has been making strides in upgrading his beach town by focusing on positive actions as one chapter ends and another begins.  Seriously, as a Mom, after a day at the beach with your child, being able to shower your child and dress them in clean clothes for evening festivities or even pajamas if you intend on hitting the road for home as the sun sets is a welcome amenity that goes a long way towards making a huge difference in my decision for which beach town to visit for a more enjoyable day trip to the beach.

I was impressed to learn Mayor Matt is placing donated funds directly in the hands of displaced families. Cash in hand goes a long way when disaster strikes in meeting some of the more immediate needs of the people that live in the town year round. D6, one of our generous sponsors for this #SoGo trip gave MayorMatt a $5,000 check for the residents of Belmar the day we visited Belmar Beach, one of the worst hit beaches along the Jersey Shore during Hurricane Sandy! I liked D6′s new product, the surfskimmer before that donation, but I can’t deny that the benevolence of D6 Sports towards the residents of Belmar didn’t make me like D6′s new, cool surfskimmer just a little bit more .

Before this trip to AC, I didn’t know just how much Atlantic City had to offer. #DoAC had me wondering, what else can you do besides casinos and the beach while in AC? For example, I had no idea how well kept the family owned and operated, Steel Pier is and about their amazing renovations plans over the next few years, which include 60% of all rides to be under cover to be enjoyed rain or shine. That’s huge travel insurance for us moms while deciding on a vacation destination for the family! Steel Pier is not affiliated with a casino, which I had no idea. This makes me want to go even more and get even more excited to share a sneak peak at the new look of Steel Pier!

I’ve always loved the beach, so finding out Caesars, another one of this #SoGo trip big sponsors, had a beautiful beach front location with chairs, umbrellas and beachside food/beverage service right to where you were sitting on the beach…WOW…reminded me of being in a remote location at a fancy resort. I had to check that I was still in New Jersey. Very cool indeed! As if being able to enjoy refreshments without having to lug my own beach gear wasn’t enough, this casino was filled with upscale restaurants and café eateries alike….whatever mood you were in or amount of money you felt like spending would be easily accommodated here at Caesars Casino. Also, there’s just something to be said about a room with a beautiful view of the beach and ocean as well as being able to watch the TV embedded in the bathroom mirror while you are getting yourself ready for the day…very innovative; I was pleasantly amazed with my entire stay at Caesars!

Right outside the Caesars Casino they have the beautiful pier shops. I found the most amazing must #DoAC activity. It appeared that every hour on the hour there was a beautiful, colorful, set to music water light show that had my attention so much it made me just a little bit late for our next event. I mean it, I was peacefully mesmerized as was everyone that was lucky enough to find this little hidden gem of AC. Young and old sat in amazement as we watched approximately a 15 minute show with water dancing to music in colorful patterns. I have to say, and many of the other bloggers will tell you I said it a lot (okay a lot, a lot) it’s a must see. It’s free and just amazing!

All-in-All…I will be adding many New Jersey Beach towns to my summer ideas list of things to do, day trips to take and yes NJ is now in my mind as being worthy of a complete family vacation destination. I’m impressed with all AC is right now as a family destination and has in the works to become in the near future. AC along with Belmar’s Mom Beach and all the other fabulous beach towns with amazing boardwalks is a complete affordable package for a fabulous family vacation destination worthy of your attention!!

A little tip of a really neat event Atlantic City is hosting this September:  Sweat AC will be September 21 & 22, 2013 with lots of celebrity trainers & lifestyle experts, including two I would love to workout with: Jillian Michaels with BODYSHRED and Shaun T with INSANITY. Click here for more info on this two day Atlantic City Health and Fitness Event.

As always, please leave your comments below on anything you can add to this article on New Jersey Beaches, Atlantic City, Belmar, Social Media for Social Good or any other topic relevant to this post.