Township receives grant to run service project
Children will participate in ‘Get Your Butts Out’ program in April
BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer

BRICK — The township has designed a project that will bring children in the community together to clean athletic fields, parks and beaches.

The Brick Municipal Alliance Committee on Alcoholism, Drug Abuse and Youth Services (B-MAC) and the Brick Township Recreation Department has received a National Youth Service Day planning grant in the amount of $2,000 that will be used to combat youth smoking. The grant was awarded by the State Farm Companies Foundation and will be used to fund the township’s “Get Your Butts Out” program in April as part of National Youth Service Day.

National Youth Service Day is the largest service event in the world with millions of young people participating annually, according to a press release from the Recreation Department. In Brick, youth leaders involved with B-MAC, peer leadership and Rebel 2 have identified underage tobacco use as an issue that needs to be addressed.

B-MAC’s participation in National Youth Service Day will be a weekend-long series of activities designed to educate younger people about the harmful effects of tobacco use, particularly cigarette smoking. Andrea Zapcic, the acting superintendent of recreation, said she expects more than 1,000 youth volunteers to participate in the event.

“Get Your Butts Out” will be launched at the opening ceremonies of the B-MAC Softball League on the evening of April 15. Informative literature about smoking and its harmful effects will be given to all in attendance at the ceremonies.

Then, children involved with B-MAC, peer leadership, Rebel 2 and the softball teams, as well as any other groups that wish to participate, will collect cigarette butts from the township’s athletic fields, parks and beaches. All of the butts collected will be placed in a clear receptacle that will be purchased with some of the grant money, Zapcic said.

“Then, at the end, they’ll be able to see exactly what was collected,” she said.

“Our community has many energetic and dynamic young people. I have no doubt that they will be most effective in spreading the message to their peers that smoking is a habit they should avoid,” Mayor Joseph C. Scarpelli said.

Earlier this month, Zapcic presented information to the Township Council about the weekend-long event, which will take place April 15-17. She said the township is one of 50 agencies selected as a lead agency in the National Youth Services Day program. Brick Township is the only agency in the state to receive this designation.

Also at the council meeting, Zapcic mentioned that a Rebel 2 student, Michael Bange, recently proposed banning smoking on the township’s beaches. If the council is still considering passing an ordinance along those lines, Zapcic said perhaps council members could coordinate passing this ordinance around same time as the “Get Your Butts Out” project.

“I’m very excited; the council was extremely receptive,” Zapcic said after her presentation. “It’s going to be a great community service project.”

Representatives from the Girl Scouts have already contacted her about participating in the project and anyone else who wants to join in the effort can contact B-MAC at (732) 262-1088. Also, B-MAC and the township Recreation Department, who are working together on the project, would like to celebrate the event with the community after the cigarette butts are collected. Any businesses who would like to donate food or other goods should contact B-MAC as well.

B-MAC is funded in part by a grant from the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. For more information on the “Get Your Butts Out” program, click on the National Youth Services Day Web site, then find the link for Brick Township.