Humane Society of Ocean City teams with Varsity Inn to raise $ in honor of Joyce Trofa
OCEAN CITY — The Varsity Inn on Eighth Street teamed up with the Humane Society of Ocean City for its Munch for a Mission on May 29, dedicated in honor of the late Joyce Bakley Trofa.
Trofa, who died May 6 at age 84, was a beloved member of the community who worked for years at Playland’s Castaway Cove and volunteered for local organizations. Her obituary asked that in lieu of flowers people make donations to the Humane Society of Ocean City (HSOC).
“My mother was just a wonderful, kind person and just always wanted to do everything for everybody,” said her daughter, Dawn Weber, who works at the Varsity Inn. “She just loved the city, loved being part of the city. She loved animals. Her number one thing was to take care of everybody — humans, animals. She was a beautiful soul.”
“We’ve always been close with the Humane Society,” Varsity Inn owner Chris McCarthy said.
“It’s a great cause,” he added. “We’ve adopted dogs throughout the year and we’ve run an event where we’ve provided an area for the Humane Society (for people) to donate either monetarily or with supplies in years past.”
He noted how the family made the special request in Trofa’s obituary.
“We thought it was a great idea to kind of merge those two things together,” he said of the request and the Munch for a Mission, in which the Varsity Inn donated 25 percent of the proceeds from the event held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (The restaurant was quite busy.)
“We’re going to make an annual tradition here in Ocean City at the Varsity Inn. We’re donating proceeds from the sales to a great cause and we have a full house today,” McCarthy said.
At the event, the HSOC had a host of employees, all who love being part of the organization, which is on Shelter Road off Tennessee Avenue.
“I love adopting out animals,” shelter manager Deanna Dolan said. “It’s my favorite thing to make people happy along with the animals.”
HSOC social media coordinator Bella Elias said she’s had pets her entire life. She grew up with Dolan. When Dolan started working at the no-kill shelter, Elias wanted to go see the cats and dogs there and after hanging out there, decided she needed to work there, too.
“It’s so much fun and these pets turn into family, you know? Getting to know them and see them all the time every day is the highlight of my day,” Elias said. “I love it there. Growing up, it’s important to have an animal.”
The Holy Spirit High School grad is from Absecon but said it is worth the drive because “they’re no-kill here so their morals align with mine and everyone’s so great that I work with.”
Bill Hollingsworth, the shelter CEO who’s been working at the Humane Society for just over 20 years, will be retiring next year but has found fulfillment there.
“I was a police officer before and it’s a change of worlds, but I get to see this positive thing of seeing animals get their forever home. It just makes you feel good going to work every day,” he said.
Hollingsworth used to work with Trofa at Playland.
“I’m so glad these three things are coming together — the Varsity Inn, Humane Society and memory of Joyce. It’s a good way of honoring her and we’re so pleased the Varsity Inn is doing this for us,” he said.
HSOC Executive Director Phil Bellucci, who was minding a cute little shelter dog, Roscoe, was impressed at how things were going at the Munch for a Mission.
“I’d probably say the biggest thing is our amazing Ocean City community coming out and supporting this cause for the Humane Society,” he said. “We couldn’t be more appreciative of it.
“Inside the Humane Society, all of the people who work for us, all of the volunteers, we all know how powerful our mission is, but it’s really nice to kind of get that back from the community,” Bellucci added. “We’re honored. We’re very lucky and proud of the community that we have here. We’ve had a bunch of people come out and meet this little guy here (Roscoe) and we’re filling our van (with donated supplies).”
Bellucci pointed out how shelter dogs make wonderful pets and how people compliment the Humane Society when they visit the shelter, see how clean it is and how supportive the staff is.
“To get that many people who are so passionate about something is really tough sometimes,” he said, impressed with the dedication of the staff and how united they are in their cause. “We often wonder how we all just kind of wound up together.”
The HSOC is at 1 Shelter Road in Ocean City. Call (609) 398-9500 or visit hsocnj.com.
– STORY and PHOTO by DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff