For over 20 years, the Margate Business Association has served the businesses and citizens of Margate
as a community leader, giving back to their neighbors and enhancing the way of life in the Downbeach
area through special events, programs and business initiatives. However, the MBA’s greatest legacy and
civic contribution may be through the Daniel and Maria Walters Scholarship Program and other forms of
outreach the MBA sponsors every day, every year. Since 1999, the scholarship program has awarded
over $120,000 in direct aid to local students attending institutions of higher learning. The Walters were
both longtime educators in the Greater Egg Harbor Regional School District and began the program as a
way to give back to the children of Margate. Resident students are required to complete an application
and submit an essay in response to a prepared prompt. The top 2 essays, anonymously selected, will
each be awarded a $2,500 scholarship. A portion of the proceeds from the annual Wine Tasting and
other events help to fund both the scholarships and the Children’s Fund; a perfect example of MBA
events having a direct, positive, tangible impact on local families.
The MBA’s community support only begins at the scholarship program, as their Children’s Fund works in
conjunction with the Margate school system, identifying children in need of basic necessities and
supplying the funding to acquire whatever is needed. Over the years, the MBA has supported children
with sneakers, warm clothing, eye glasses, school supplies, holiday toys, sports equipment and has even
sent latch key kids to summer camps and supported autism awareness programs and much more.
The MBA has reached even further into South Jersey to support a number of charitable organizations,
whose philanthropic philosophies mirror the MBA: Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Pediatric Cancer
Research, Hearts Therapeutic Riding Center, Gilda’s Club Noogie Land, the JCC and JFS Charity Golf
outing, Marines’ Toys for Tots and the Atlantic County Toys for Kids Program are just some of the
charities that have benefitted from MBA fundraisers. It’s the ongoing support of the public combined
with the MBA’s determination to make a difference that will allow all of these programs to continue to
thrive well into the future.
