Local Residents Making a Positive Impact on the NJ Shore

Steve Adubato takes One-on-One to the 2018 Making a Difference Awards and speaks to 2 honorees about the unique ways they have made an impact on their NJ shore communities. Edrick Alleyene, a true hero who was the only person brave enough to go out into the rough ocean in Long Branch to save Dustin Fleischer, a 28 year-old professional boxer. And Carla Scarabino from Monmouth Beach who co-founded The Beauty Foundation for Cancer Care in 2008 with the mission to alleviate the physical, emotional, and financial strain that cancer treatments places on families.

7/3/18 #2154

Excerpt:

"Alright, check this out. This is Edrick Alleyne, who is from Eatontown, New Jersey, and it's interesting. A lot of people here, Edrick, run organizations, not-for-profits, they're recognized by the Russ Berrie Making a Difference Award committee. Your story's a little bit different. You were down at the Jersey Shore, tell us what happens. Down at the Jersey Shore, Friday night, I take the kids to the park, usually we get dinner, go for ice cream at the lighthouse, hanging out at the park, somebody ran up, a guy ran up, he said, "My nephew! My nephew!" He was in the ocean? Yes, absolutely. Nephew in the ocean, and we're thinking it's, you know, a little kid, because you only can see the person's head. So we run - I run over... I run down to the beach, there's about, maybe like, 15 people down there. And he's floating out... he's going out further and further and further, so I... first I try to jump in,and then I got hit by a wave. Then I said to myself, "I've seen a current." And I've seen how, like, it was a rip current. You can see, I was pulling him. And he was ducking the waves. So I went in, and I couldn't...like I got hit with the wave, then I followed him, because he was drifting. As he was drifting, I followed him, and then I told him, "Ride the wave." Because he was about, maybe like, 60 yards out? So I... Did he hear you? Yeah, because I was screaming... I was screaming. I was like, at the top of... You were alone? You were the only one who went in? I just want to be clear. You were the only one who went in? Yes. Only person that went in. And then I told him to ride the waves, because he was ducking them, because he was exhausted, so he didn't know what to do. And I told him, "No, ride the waves." He got about 30-35 yards in, and then I ran in... I went in, and I grabbed him, because he couldn't swim anymore, or anything like that. I went in, grabbed him, put him on my hip, put my arm around him, and then I started to ride the waves in, and then swim with the one arm that I had, and brought..."