Hurricane Sandy, monsters, and what we can do to help...

Hello friends and fans of the monsters! It's been a long time since our last post but this one is an important one for us.

As many of you may or may not know, the monsters and I are born and bred in New Jersey. As New Jersey residents, our hearts are heavy for those people who have lost so much in the wake of Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey and the surrounding areas. I feel more than fortunate that the worst for me was having to weather the storm stitching monsters by lantern light..

While our family and closest friends are thankfully all safe and sound, many, many, people were not as lucky. I grew up nearly every summer on Long Beach Island finding many small and large adventures to lose myself in... chasing seagulls on the beach, hopping rocks at Barnegat Light, burying myself in the sand because no one else would... Ok, and I still may do those things now...

My mom and I, just a few months ago, decided to take a drive down the coast from my best friend's house in Long Branch, NJ to stop in some of the towns along the way and to see my mom's old stomping grounds. I've heard many a story of her childhood days spent romping around the Asbury Park area at her Aunt's house. I knew taking a trip down memory lane would be a fun thing to do and something we hadn't done in a while. Somewhat typical of adventures with my mom (love you mom!), we got lost more than a few times, turning down dead end streets, sometimes heading in the opposite direction then where we needed to go. And as I was watching some of the aftermath footage from these towns we drove through, some that seem to have lost everything, I remembered getting a little annoyed at my mom for her driving antics. And despite my complaints she just kept saying, "Just look around you. It's so beautiful here. I want you to see all these neat houses." And don't get me wrong, I did. I did appreciate all of the houses and the little adventure my mom was taking me on but maybe not as much as I should have. Maybe I should have complained one less time about the 10th dead end street we turned down and just appreciated the ride for what it was. But in the end, I'm more than glad we took that trip when we did. And I'm happy knowing that someday I'll be able to take my kids on that very drive and explain to them all that it's been through and how beautifully it's been rebuilt (likely all while they're giving me disapproving looks for my wayward driving...).

Ok, ok so what is all this rambling about?? Hmm?

Here in the monster warehouse, we want to help as best we can. Because we can't be there physically to lend our two hands, we're selling these T-shirts to raise money for disaster relief. 100% of the proceeds will be donated to The American Red Cross and The Alliance for a Living Ocean located on Long Beach Island, NJ.

$15, 100% donated

They are adult sizes S-XL. And we have limited toddler sizes in the bunny design. Please leave a comment or email dkoss2@gmail.com with your size and design preference and we can see what we have in stock.

If you don't need or want a t-shirt, please consider donating directly. Every little bit counts and even the smallest amount can make a difference. And a HUGE thank you to everyone who's already helped by purchasing T-shirts and sharing this information via Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Together, let's help rebuild what so many of us have grown to know and love so deeply.

Forever Yours,

Your Friendly Neighborhood NJ Monster Maker