Manahawkin Cancer Charity Wins 25K State Farm Grant

MANAHAWKIN, NJ — Local charity David's Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation was announced as a winner of a State Farm Neighborhood Assist Grant.

The charity received a grant of $25,000, which will go to their Beacon of Hope program. This program provides financial assistance and patient to support to families across New Jersey dealing with cancer.

Specifically, the money will go to 25 families to take care of necessities, such as paying for medical bills, transportation to treatments, childcare and food. It may even help those families that would have otherwise dropped out of treatment due to cost, a State Farm spokesperson said.

David’s Dream & Believe Cancer Foundation was picked from 4,000 applications across the country. This was narrowed down to the top 200, and then were posted online for the public to vote on. Ten days of voting and more than 2.1 million votes cast by 88,000 people led to the foundation being selected as a winner. This is the second time the foundation has received a Neighborhood Assist, grant, State Farm said.

"We aim to be a beacon of hope for those who are struggling in the same ways our own CEO once did," the foundation wrote in their Neighborhood Assist description. "This program will help us to do just that – to remind strangers that they are not alone and to allow us to help keep them afloat during their trying life chapter.