Cancer Benefit Succeeds With Post-Sandy Support

Putting together a benefit like this is a daunting task.

On the Friday before Hurricane Sandy hit, Chris Paseka lamented organizing Go Naked and Check Yourself because of the number of sleepless nights it caused. But, he said just a few days before Sandy would land on New Jersey's shores and cause historic destruction, it's hard to give up when it's for such a good cause.

On Sunday, the second annual Go Naked and Check Yourself benefit for detectable cancers saw a sellout crowd pour into Teak restaurant. Like Sandy's impact on the coast, Paseka could never have expected the kind of generous response he got from local businesses themselves still recovering from the storm.

In all, more than 65 local businesses and organizations contributed to Go Naked in the form of donated food, supplies, gifts, auction items and cash. The entire effort is emblematic of downtown Red Bank's sense of community, Paseka said.

"I can't believe how much people stepped up this year," he said during Sunday's Go Naked event. "We didn't get aggressive because we knew people's hearts and minds were in other places, but as it went on, people just started giving and giving and giving."

The DJ and photo booth were supplied by Sounds to Go, a Red Bank-based photography and wedding entertainment outfit that set up its Front Street location as a drop off center for Hurricane Sandy relief items immediately following the storm's hit. owner Anthony Ferrando, who has spent part of the past few weeks helping cook for those in need, was on hand providing help in the kitchen and even carrying sliders on a tray through the crowd. The space at Teak was donated by the Bistro boys, including George Lyristis, who, along with other Flavour representatives, has been on a cooking tour of shelters and tent compounds throughout the area after Sandy.

In some ways, Paseka saw Sunday's event as a break from Sandy-related concerns. Some of the approximately 250 attendees even said thank you for putting together an event that could give them some reprieve from the cleanup following Sandy, he said. It's a sign things are returning to normal now that Red Bank businesses have gotten back to their regularly scheduled philanthropy.

"Our friends and neighbors are just getting back to normal," he said. "And it's OK to have a break."

A break that benefits, too. Go Naked and Check Yourself was envisioned by Paseka, co-owner of Sugarush and Angie Courtney of Sweetest Sin lingerie, as a way to raise money for cancer charities while generating awareness for the need to be proactive in the fight against detectable cancers, all of which are significantly more manageable if discovered early. Last year the event raised nearly $9,000, which was given to the American Cancer Society. This year, even with Sandy's impact, Paseka was hoping to break that first-year total.

The final tally has yet to be announced, though the funds will be spread evenly to four organizations: Young Survivors Coalition, Livestrong, the American Cancer Society, and Move For Hunger, which was added to aid Hurricane Sandy victims.

"I wanted to feel like I was part of a community," Paseka said in a previous report.

Based on Sunday's outpouring of support from local businesses, Paseka's done just that.