Donations sought for Coast Guard families during partial government shutdown

Two Cape May County organizations are seeking donations for local U.S. Coast Guard families during the ongoing partial federal government shutdown.

Seaville Fire Company’s Kevin Boyle says he’s partnering with American Legion Post 184 on a joint mission to help the families who are at risk of not receiving an upcoming paycheck.

Nearby Training Center Cape May is the fifth largest Coast Guard base.

Unlike the other military branches that fall under the Department of Defense, Coast Guard personnel are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security and are working without pay.

More than 1,500 Coast Guard personnel in New Jersey are impacted, according to NJ.com.

In the meantime, Boyle says the public can donate diapers, baby food, non-perishable food, and monetary funds at the Seaville Fire Company (36 Route 50, Seaville) or the American Legion Post 184 (4200 Atlantic Avenue, Wildwood).

Nearly 13,000 people have signed a petition as of early Friday afternoon for the federal government to pay the approximately 42,000 Coast Guard personnel during the shutdown.

MilitaryTimes reported that if emergency legislation is not passed by Friday night, Coast Guard paychecks will not be processed on time for a Jan. 1 release.

In a statement released Thursday, U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officers Association National President Jon Ostrowski called on Congress to to pay Coast Guard members during government shutdowns.

“What Congress may not realize is that service members will pay the price for this with their time to fill out paperwork to take out personal loans and grants to cover their bills, not to mention the time it takes to pay back any loans received after the government shutdown is resolved,” he said. “Our USCG members deserve better than this.”