Major Donation Made to the Diller Home In Memory of Matt Mullin

AVALON — A major donation was made to the Helen L. Diller Vacation Home for Blind Children on Sat. morning, Aug. 7.
Friends and family of the late Matt Mullin attended the event to present proceeds from the first Mull-Morial 5k Run/Beef and Beer that was held here during Memorial Day weekend.
“This event will be held every year in Avalon to continue Matt’s legacy,” said Matt’s father, Mike Mullin. “This year, the Diller Home was selected because of its wonderful work with challenged, at-need children. The many years that Matt worked on the 24th Street beach in Avalon brought him an appreciation for the courage of these visually-impaired children, and empathy for their daily struggle,” he added.
Mike Mullin presented a check totaling $10,490 dollars to the Board of Directors at the Diller home. The funds will be used to help the home provide week-long summer vacations in Avalon for visually-impaired children. The home provides these vacations over the duration of eight weeks, from late June through mid August, free of charge.
“I would like to thank Diller Home board members Doug Heun, Chuck Covington, Mickey Coskey, and Julian Miraglia for their support of this project,” Mullin said. “The Avalon business community and merchants outside of Avalon deserve our heartfelt thanks for their generous donations that allowed us to raise money, and donate it back to the Diller Home,” he continued.
Matt Mullin was a former member of the Avalon Beach Patrol who spent many summers in Avalon with family and friends. Matt tragically lost his life in a boating accident at the age of 26, in Hong Mullin was living abroad and working for a brokerage firm at the time of his death in April, 2009. He was a graduate of St. Joseph’s Prep in 2001 where he was deeply rooted in the “Men for Others” philosophy of the school; also graduated St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in 2005.
The Mullin family decided to continue Matt’s legacy with a big weekend of volunteerism and fundraising in Avalon. The first “Mull-Morial Day” weekend event began May 29 with a full day of service. More than three dozen volunteers cleaned the Diller Home in advance of the arrival of summer campers.
On Sun., May 30th, a 5k beach run was held in the borough. Later in the day, a beef and beer benefit was held at Jack’s Place. Proceeds from Sunday’s events were donated to the Diller Home. The Mullin family will continue with the “Mull-Morial” events each year with proceeds being donated back to Avalon.
“We deeply appreciate the very generous donation made to the Diller Home by the Mullin family,” said Avalon Councilman Chuck Covington, who also serves as the Vice President of the Board of Directors for the Diller Home.
“We are honored to celebrate the life of a very special young man who always put others before himself. This donation will greatly assist the Diller Home in providing vacations for our special children, and I’m sure Matt would be very proud of his family and friends for this great community effort,” he went on.
Many friends and family of Matt Mullin also donated their time and services to make this event possible. They are: Mike Fitzpatrick, Jen Forster, Patrick Gangemi, Tom Gangemi, Adam Hepp, Mike Malley, Brandon Mallon, Mark and Lauren Mullin, Patrick Nolan, Dan Ryan, Lindsay Thompson, and Heather Wills.
Blind and visually-impaired children have been enjoying a one-week, all expenses paid vacation to the Diller Home since 1972. For eight weeks each summer, the Home operates a camp that offers many of the campers their very first experience at the beach and ocean. The campers range in age from seven to 15 years old, and the home can accommodate up to 20 campers per week.
The home is located at 127 26th Street in Avalon. The official website for the home is www.dillerblindhome.com.
To learn more about the life and legacy of Matt Mullin, his family has established an official website, www.mattymullin.com. The website contains information and photographs of Matt, and more information about the “Mull-Morial” event in Avalon.