Excitement builds for autism awareness fundraiser in Sea Isle

Three big, heated tents are already going up in Excursion Park.

Sea Isle City is preparing to awaken from its winter slumber by hosting an annual fundraiser expected to draw thousands of visitors to town to benefit children and families dealing with autism.

Mike Monichetti, organizer of the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism, estimates that about 2,000 people will participate in the event and thousands of their friends and family members will be on hand as spectators to show their support on Saturday, during Presidents Day weekend.

“It’s really great. It really is. It’s good for us. It’s good for Sea Isle, and more importantly, it’s good for autism,” Monichetti said while thanking Sea Isle officials at a City Council meeting Tuesday for their enthusiastic support of the fundraiser over the years.

City officials returned the compliment, telling Monichetti that he and his wife, Jeannie, have done an incredible amount of work to raise awareness of autism.

“We’re proud of you, Mike,” Mayor Leonard Desiderio said.

City Council President William Kehner told Monichetti that he deserves all the credit he has earned over the years for organizing the fundraiser and helping families deal with the challenges of autism.

“Sea Isle and its residents love you for it,” Kehner said.

Entering its 17th year, the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism has raised more than $1 million during its history to benefit autism support groups, special services schools and families of special needs children.

“It’s not so much the money you raise. It’s the awareness you bring for autism,” Monichetti said.

    Runners take off at the starting line on the Promenade during the 2024 fundraising event.
  

The event will start at noon Saturday on the oceanfront Promenade at John F. Kennedy Boulevard and includes a five-kilometer run and one-mile family fun walk.

Following the run and walk, an awards ceremony and after-party featuring food and family-friendly entertainment are planned in large, heated tents in Excursion Park next to the Promenade. Entertainment will include a Mummers string band from Philadelphia.

Pointing to the rainy forecast on Saturday, Monichetti emphasized that the event will go on, no matter what the winter weather may bring.

“If we don’t run, if we don’t walk, we have three heated tents,” he said. “It’s a great family day – a holiday weekend in Sea Isle City in the middle of winter. Fantastic. The key word there that everybody heard I just said: family.”

The run-walk will serve as the centerpiece of Sea Isle’s Presidents Day celebration, a time when thousands of visitors traditionally head to the shore for a winter getaway weekend of shopping, dining and family-friendly activities.

“I am just so damn proud that you guys let me have this event in Sea Isle City and back it wholeheartedly. It’s just a great feeling running up there my whole life, 60 some years, that I’m able to have this event,” Monichetti told city officials.

Monichetti has established a broad network of supporters over the years, including private donors, city officials, the business community, corporations, schools, churches, civic organizations, autism groups and many others. Each year, he is touched by their generosity.

Reflecting the event’s widespread community support, VFW Post 1963 in Sea Isle has donated $10,000 to the event, he told City Council amid applause from the audience.

“They were looking for a homegrown charity that they could get behind,” Monichetti said of the VFW. “That’s huge.”

    Mike Monichetti, owner of Mike's Seafood, speaks to City Council about the autism awareness fundraiser.
  

The fundraiser has attracted some star power in the past, and Monichetti is hoping the same thing happens again this year.

He has invited Gov. Phil Murphy and his wife, Tammy, to attend. The governor and his wife participated in the event’s 5K run in 2020.

The run attracted another big-name participant in 2024, when former Eagles All-Pro and Pro-Bowl center Jason Kelce made a surprise appearance with his wife, Kylie. The Kelces own a vacation home in Sea Isle and are often seen around town in the summer.

“They really blew the lid off of everything,” Monichetti said of the excitement generated by the Kelces last year.

It is not yet known whether the Kelces will show up this year, Monichetti said. As he has done before, Monichetti said the Kelces’ participation in the fundraiser helped to generate widespread social media interest in the event, including a photo that went viral of Jason Kelce running beneath a Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism banner on the Promenade.

Monichetti, however, couldn’t resist taking a good-natured poke at Jason Kelce’s brother, Travis Kelce, the All-Pro and Pro-Bowl tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs, while speculating on a possible reason why Jason might not make it to the autism fundraiser.

“I don’t know if Jason Kelce is coming this year. He’s probably consoling his brother,” Monichetti joked about the Eagles’ 40-22 thrashing of the Chiefs in the Super Bowl.

For additional information on the Mike’s Seafood Run-Walk for Autism or to register for the event, visit Mike's Seafood Run/Walk.

    Jason Kelce is greeted by cheers from his fans while running on the Promenade in the Mike's Seafood Run-Walk for Autism on Feb. 17, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Mike's Seafood Facebook page)