Chris, Andrea Monihan raise more than $15,000 for Shore Medical Center through sign campaign
SOMERS POINT — Chris and Andrea Monihan realized in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic that health care workers would need the public’s help.
That’s why they started a lawn sign fundraising campaign to help Shore Medical Center purchase the suddenly necessary personal protective equipment as the virus quickly spread across the nation, leaving death and heartbreak in its wake.
The Somers Point health care facility honored the Ocean City residents for their support of front-line workers Nov. 29 when they presented the couple with the Surgical Chairman’s Award.
It is presented annually to a physician, nurse, organization, administrator or community member who has gone above and beyond to support Shore’s surgical programs.
In April 2020, Monihan and his wife began creating lawn signs thanking first responders and health care workers for their efforts as a way to raise money for PPE and other life-saving equipment.
“Everyone needed PPE equipment and it was running low. The hospital was running out of money and needed equipment because they were going through it so quickly,” Monihan said. “We had no idea how much we would raise.”
He said they designed the signs with help from their daughter, Renee Parker Monihan, who passed away tragically Nov. 3, 2021, and started delivering them to neighbors.
“We did 100 signs and went through those in a matter of days, then 100 more and 100 more,” Monihan said. “It just kept growing. We probably sold about 500 signs.”
As it turned out, they raised more than $15,000, all of which was donated to Shore Medical Center.
Monihan said they started locally, selling the signs for $25 apiece, delivered and placed in the yard, and had sales from people all over southern New Jersey.
“There’re are still a lot of signs today, two years later,” he said, noting the Bickings family, neighbors down the street, had a contact at the hospital and “were instrumental in our efforts.”
Eventually Monihan delivered signs as far away as Cape May to the south and Tuckerton to the north.
“It was nice to see the community get behind this,” he said. “A lot of people wanted to be involved in one way or another.”
Monihan said he was not aware of the award until the couple was notified they had been nominated and later found out they had won.
Dr. Leonard Galler, Clinical and Administrative Surgical Department chairman at Shore, has been part of the Surgical Chairman’s Award Selection Committee for many years.
“Chris and Andrea’s philanthropic support and activism in our community over recent years, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowed for the continued ongoing function of Shore Medical Center and our Surgical Department,” Galler said. “Their communitywide lawn sign campaign served as inspiration to our surgical team, who worked tirelessly to care for our community. Their leadership and commitment to our hospital’s mission, our surgical team and our community are greatly appreciated. They were beacons of hope and support during trying times for our community.”
The Monihans’ support for Shore Medical Center did not stop there. After the death of their daughter, who was 3 and a half at the time, they created the Renee Parker Monihan Memorial Fund at Shore, raising more than $100,000 to be used for creating a pediatric specialty emergency care unit.
The couple also has created the nonprofit Renee Parker Monihan Foundation, through which they plan to host fundraising events to further support the medical center, as well as the Milton & Betty Katz Jewish Community Center in Margate, where Renee attended preschool.
“As hard as it is, it is very rewarding,” Monihan said.
“We are working closely with Chris and Andrea on a project that will enhance the care provided to children in our community for years to come,” Shore spokesman Brian Cahill said.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff