Summer Solstice and Wellness Event is Cancelled

Thank you to all who were planning on coming out to the Summer Solstice and Wellness Paddle Challenge event on June 21, 2025, in Asbury Park, NJ. Unfortunately, the event has been cancelled by the City of Asbury Park for concerns related to parking, participant volume, and a side-bar request for additional dates on Deal Lake, which intended to act as an instructional and charitable means as an attraction for tourism and the people of the city of Asbury Park.

This paddle challenge was, is, the culmination and completion of a M.S., in Instructional Design and Technology, Quinnipiac University and attempted to leverage ties to social and community design, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and social recreation transfer, and social reproduction. This narrow redirect effectively stops a flow of expendable goods- paper cups, plates, napkins, soap, coffee, and silverware for the insecure in the community.

The paddle challenge was, is, also the start of a pursuit of an Ed.D., in Design of Learning Environments at Rutgers University and acted as community-minded program to start a discussion about how an afforded community can use kayaking as a mechanism for social responsibility. And in this case, directly providing over 10,000 paper cups, 12,000 plates, 40,000 napkins, 10 industrial coffee makers, and 20 gallons of high-volume soap to agencies in Asbury Park, NJ by September 1, 2025. Much needed supplies for the insecure throughout the fall and winter.

I am relieved to know that I exhausted efforts to prepare a quality program rooted deep with the American Canoe Association (ACA) Intro to Kayaking Curriculum with guidelines to and for the community. There still remains hopes of teaching kayaking lessons, offering free paddling instruction, and offering community passes to teach, engage, listen and learn from everyone, especially the hungry.

Though disappointed, I understand council's concerns and will continue to work with and for the people of Southern Coastal Monmouth County as I prepare my Ed.D., research and forthcoming dissertation, focusing on kayaking affordances, cultural and social capital, and now social reproduction in water facing communities.

 On notice, I will comply with a now legal request to hold back from programming on Deal Lake, Launching from Asbury Park for the 2025 season. I acknowledge and understand Asbury’s Council’s concerns and hope to return to good standing quickly so together we can work together to meet my academic and organizational goal(s) of offsetting the costs of expendable goods for: Trinity Church, The Main Street Mission, and The Mercy Center in 2025 and beyond.

Respectfully,

Kevin R. Burkitt -
B.A, M.A, M.S, Ed.D. Candidate
President - A Paddle; For Hunger
Neptune, NJ
pdl4hunger@gmail.com
(732) 820 - 0464