Photo: (Getty)
As a senior in high school (OK, and even as a freshman too) I would go down to Seaside Heights after prom night and Memorial Day Weekend. The Jersey Shore was more than just a beach. It was a haven for kids -- cool, geeky, goth, jock, whoever and whatever. We all fit in down the shore. Anyone who has been to down the shore has totally made a memory from it -- an eternal inside joke or the best FB profile pic ever. And now our haven is gone.
Rides. Pizza shops and lemonade stands. Corny t-shirt shops. Hot guys with tribal tats. All gone. After Hurricane Sandy hit, the town was in in 8 1/2 feet of water. Houses covered in sand. Parts of the boardwalk MIA. Seaside Heights mayor Bill Akers estimates that it will take over "$100 million to restore what the storm has damaged, including private residences, and that it may cost more than $14 million alone to rebuild the 16-block boardwalk." The mayor also told Time, "Without a season, we don't have a community," and explained that the town relies 75% on tourism.
So Seaside Heights needs A LOT of money to get back on its feet and if they don't raise it by next summer, it will definitely affect the town's economy. What can we do? I got you. See below for three ways to give back to this urgent cause.
+Tune In
Tonight at 11/10c MTV is airing "Restore The Shore," a one hour special to raise money for Seaside Heights. You can also watch it online or on your smartphone. We partnered up with Seaside Heights as well as Architecture For Humanity (a non-profit that provides design and construction services to communities in need) to rebuild the town. You'll see LIVE performances by Gym Class Heroes and Phillip Phillips. We'll also be airing special messages from One Direction, Taylor Swift, Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, Kim Kardashian and other stars. The "Jersey Shore" cast will be live from the special too and they'll be clips of the cast visiting a post-Sandy Seaside Heights. I never thought I would tear up from watching Snooki on TV but her reaction of seeing Seaside in the dire state it's in...yeah, I cried. You can watch the clip below.
+Donate
MTV partnered for the first time with a crowdfunding platform, Indiegogo, to offer fans a different way to raise funds for a good cause. So donate to the Restore The Shore campaign on Indiegogo! 100% of your donation will go to the campaign. Everyone who donates $25 or more will score an exclusive MTV "Restore the Shore" playlist, which includes 30 songs from the past six seasons of "Jersey Shore." But you can also donate less than $25 and if you're in a time crunch you can always make a $10 donation by texting SHORE to 85944.
+Tweet #RestoreTheShore
If you don't have any money to spare and you can't tune in to the special, you can always bring awareness to the Restore The Shore campaign by tweeting 'bout it using the hashtag #RestoreTheShore. And who knows? Maybe one of the celebs from the special will RT you?!
Bottom line: Seaside Heights needs YOU. ASAP! We hope you can help out with the cause in one way or another, cause everyone should experience the magic of Seaside Heights at least once or 100 times in their lives.
