Colts Neck High School student William Dean, 15, of Marlboro, recently raised $21,500 to benefit Extreme SEAL Adventures (ESA), Cambridge, Md., and the Freehold Regional High School District’s Navy Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (NJROTC) unit at Colts Neck High School.
William is a student in the NJROTC program.
A year ago, William held a fundraiser that brought in $12,250 for the New Jersey Vietnam Veterans’ Memorial, Holmdel, and $5,400 for the NJROTC unit by asking for donations to the veterans memorial paver program.
This year, William created a paver program for ESA, which is a nonprofit organization founded by retired U.S. Navy SEAL Senior Chief Don Shipley and his wife, Diane Shipley. In addition to the paver program, William held a fundraising barbecue.
ESA’s mission is to provide support through hunting and fishing to boys and girls with cancer and other illnesses who will not be able to serve in the military, and to veterans who have been injured in combat.
The NJROTC program at Colts Neck High School is open to students from the Freehold Regional’s eight sending municipalities and is directed by Administrative Officer Major Gregory Penczak, Master Chief Michael Dunkin and Master Chief David Loring.
William’s program asked for a donation of $200, which offered a 4-inch by 8-inch engraved paver along ESA’s new memorial walkway. ESA later donated $45 back to the NJROTC unit for each of the 80 pavers that were ordered.
In the end, William said, $12,400 was donated to ESA and $9,100 was donated to the NJROTC unit.
The fundraiser which produced donations beyond the 80 pavers was held at the Morganville Volunteer Fire Company, Marlboro, and was catered by Dan Duffy and Denis O’Connor from the Cracked Olive Market, Holmdel.
The event was attend by about 200 people, including Monmouth County Freeholder Director Lillian Burry, Freeholder John Curley, Freeholder Serena DiMaso and state Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon.
The band Lefty Mann entertained the guests. A dual armed drill exhibition was performed by William and fellow cadet Michael Whitehead, and a color guard consisting of eight cadets was presented.
William said he chose to assist ESA because he attended a camp called Extreme SEAL Experience in Chesapeake, Va., that was run by Don Shipley and active duty SEALs. The participants learned what a week in basic underwater demolition/SEAL training is like.
William, who is the son of Victoria and Chris Dean, said, “I am happy I can help the men who would proudly put their lives on the line to protect each and every American. I believe every veteran should be appreciated after all the things they have done for this great nation. I hope that in the future we can continue to support our veterans, especially the wounded, and make them feel at home again.”
William’s parents said, “Because of our Navy background, William comes from a family that not only served in the military, but has chosen to always honor our veterans, yet his decision to continue to want to have fundraisers is all his idea and desire, which makes us proud of the young man he is becoming.”
Shipley said, “William not only represents the NJROTC well, but also the state of New Jersey. He is going to be a fine SEAL someday and he has a great future ahead of him.”
