Buying a Holiday Ball Full of Sea Bright

It was an on-a-whim community-minded way of helping those impacted by Hurricane Sandy.

And, with Sea Bright, simple pleasures and measures in mind, Fair Haven residents Melissa Neczesny, Janice Peluso and Jennifer Fiore had an idea. They figured out a quick way to give people some holiday cheer, savor the Sea Bright they and so many loved and knew would rise again and earn some money for Sandy victims in the mix.

Feeling thankful for the many great memories Sea Bright had given them and would in the future, they aptly went to its shores on Thanksgiving, gathered some sand and shells, ordered some clear, blank glass Christmas balls, filled them and hand-painted each.

"I came up with the idea from looking in a Coastal Living magazine, went online ordered 200 fillable glass balls," Neczesny said. "I got the sand from the Sea Bright dunes and, with help from Janice Peluso and Jennifer Fiore, started filling and painting."

The delicate ornaments are selling right out of Neczesny's home for $15 each and 100 percent of the proceeds will go directly to any or a number of Sandy charities. They're working on the honor system and guarantee through the goodness of their community-honed hearts that every bit of the proceeds are going nowhere but "to a local group, groups or individual(s) affected by Hurricane Sandy," Neczesny added.

Once the sale is complete and the women have filled, painted and sold as many balls as time and supplies will allow, "the three of us will decide, depending on how much money is raised, what group or individual(s) affected by the storm will go to."

In the meantime, the ornaments are for sale and can be purchased by calling Neczesny at 732-212-9013 or emailing her at melissanecz@yahoo.com to let her know you'd like to stop by her house to make your purchase.

"Keep the memory of the shore alive!" she said. "They're one-of-a-kind from our very own Sea Bright and, yes, every penny will go to those in need."

Last Patch had checked in with Neczesy, a couple of days ago, sales had passed the $1,000 mark.