Manasquan Community Comes Together for Neighborly Fun to Support Two Important Teens

The Manasquan community and surrounding neighbors united for a worthy cause at the 2nd Annual Manasquan Backyard Crawl, sponsored by Jersey Mike’s, on May 18th. Founder and organizer Tiffany Prime said “I take great pride in volunteering for a one-of-a-kind event supported by over 300 volunteers, backyard hosts, food and music donors, sponsors, volunteer photographers, and more than 1,000 paid participants. Jillian Ludwig taught us to 'play it forward,' and as a community, we raise money for Aaron Van Trease’s rehabilitation and to honor Jillian Ludwig and her Playing it Forward initiative."

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The 2024 recipient, Aaron Van Trease, who also benefited from the 2023 Crawl, is a Manasquan resident injured during a football game in his senior year of high school at St John Vianney in 2022. The funds raised will help Aaron attend Project Walk, a non-profit organization that offers activity-based recovery programs that are not covered by insurance. Aaron attends Project Walk 4 times per week. Tiffany's motivation to start and continue this program annually stems from what she sees in Aaron "He is determined and dedicated. I want to help him achieve his goals and for the family to not have the stress of paying medical bills. Aaron is one of the strongest young men I know, and his parents are one of the nicest couples I've met."

The second recipient, Jillian Ludwig, was an 18-year-old Wall resident tragically struck by a stray bullet near her Belmont University campus. She passed away from her injuries, and the money raised in her honor will support music students and struggling artists.

Organizing such a large event takes months of planning, with meetings among hosts and committee members. The inaugural year, 2023, featured 14 host backyards, 560 participants, and raised $22,000. Of the proceeds, 75% went to Aaron Van Trease and 25% to the Manasquan First Aid Squad. Tickets sold out in just two and a half weeks. Learning from the first year, the committee expanded the event in 2024, adding six more backyards and doubling the tickets available, which sold out in 15 minutes. Net proceeds are expected to exceed $50,000. Founder Tiffany Prime stated, “My plan is to have the Manasquan Backyard Crawl every year to raise money for Aaron Van Trease because he was the reason I created this event to begin with. We may have another person or organization benefit as well from year to year.”

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The event included twenty backyard hosts across Manasquan, organized into four separate routes, each featuring food, dessert tastings, musicians, and water. Participants, or "crawlers," followed one of the four routes, visiting each backyard for 45 minutes, with 15 minutes to travel to the next location. Groups of 26 or 30 crawlers rotated through the backyards, meeting new groups at each stop. Local restaurants, caterers, and bakers donated food and dessert, while musicians volunteered their time to perform. Each group received a lanyard with a specific schedule and a map of the routes.

In following this event, what was evident was that this was not only a fundraiser for a great cause, but truly a community-building event for Manasquan residents and its local businesses. Does this portend the possibility of expanding the event in 2025 and possibly spreading the backyard crawl into neighboring Gold Coast towns and does Tiffany Prime have the desire to lead the concept in 2025? We will see next year at this time.

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