Boasting miles of easy walking trails and stunning views of the salt water marsh, Cattus Island County Park is a 530-acre oasis in Toms River, Ocean County, at the New Jersey Shore. The park is home to nesting ospreys each spring, offers opportunities for kayaking and stand-up paddleboarding, and educates visitors about native plants and wildlife in the Cooper Environmental Center.
Nikki Vernachio, chief park naturalist, talks about the benefits to body and mind of being in nature, and the importance of exposing the riches of the natural world to children, the future stewards of the planet.

Ocean County Department of Parks and Recreation https://www.oceancountyparks.org
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com

Watch Still Time for Joy as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd

Yoga provides so many health benefits to both body and mind; adding a sunrise surf lesson at the New Jersey Shore makes the experience even more beautiful and beneficial.

Marissa McIntyre is the founder of Yoga del Soul in Toms River, NJ, which offers yoga classes for all levels. She and her partner Jeff Croteau run a Yoga-Surf camp during the warm weather in Seaside Park, NJ.

I recently gave it a try with my daughter, Caroline, and had a great time, even though I found learning to surf quite challenging.

Yoga del Soul https://www.yogadelsoulnj.com/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

Watch Still Time for Joy as a video podcast on YouTube @sandralevineprod

Listen to this remarkable story of resilience, and turning pain into purpose.

At age 21, while walking down the street on Spring Break in Daytona Beach, FL, Steven Benvenisti was struck and nearly killed by a drunk driver. He suffered horrific physical injuries as well as a severe traumatic brain injury, and doctors thought he would not survive.

Benvenisti vowed, if he were able to make a complete recovery, to devote his life to working to prevent drunk driving accidents, and helping people who have suffered a brain injury.

Today, he is a personal injury attorney and partner at Davis, Saperstein & Salomon in Teaneck, NJ, helping victims to receive compensation for their injuries. He is the chair of the advisory board of MADD - NY/NJ/PA, and the president of the board of trustees of the Brain Injury Alliance of New Jersey.

Davis, Saperstein & Salomon https://www.dsslaw.com/
Sandra Levine Productions https://sandralevine.com/

Still Time for Joy is available as a video podcast on YouTube @sandralevineprod

World-renowned dementia care specialist, Teepa Snow, provides practical advice and trusted information on all aspects of dementia and caregiving, so family caregivers, caregiving professionals, and the medical community can assist people living with dementia with more respect, greater success, and less frustration.

Teepa, who has been an occupational therapist for 45 years, founded Positive Approach to Care, which offers extensive training opportunities, both in-person, and online, to thousands around the world.

In this episode, Teepa gives host Sandra Levine—whose mother had Alzheimer’s Disease—pointers on how she might have handled some difficult situations, like the need for her mom to stop driving.

Positive Approach to Care: https://teepasnow.com/
Sandra Levine Productions: https://sandralevine.com/

Still Time for Joy is available as a video podcast on YouTube @sandralevineprod

Art therapy uses making art to help bring subconscious thoughts to a more conscious level, and open the door for discussing them. Joanna Flora is a board-certified art therapist with a practice in Sparta, NJ, and a member of the board of directors of the NJ Art Therapy Association. Joanna explains how art therapy can help people of all ages with issues ranging from anxiety to postpartum depression to PTSD.
Flora and Associates: https://floraandassociates.com/
NJ Art Therapy Association: https://www.njarttherapy.com/
Sandra Levine Productions: https://sandralevine.com/

Still Time for Joy is available as a video podcast on YouTube @sandralevineprod

Opportunities for physical recreation can be severely limited for blind and visually impaired young people. Camp Abilities changes all that by giving participants a chance to hone athletic skills, which in turn boosts confidence. The camp's coaches include Kean University students who will use their experiences to provide richer opportunities for visually impaired students in their physical education classes.

Alex Stribing, Ph.D., assistant professor at Kean University in NJ, and director of Camp Abilities at the RWJBarnabas Health Field of Dreams in Toms River, NJ, explains the benefits to the young athletes, the college students, and the greater community.

Thank you to Scheno Photography for many of the photos of Camp Abilities in this podcast.

Camp Abilities - Field of Dreams: https://rwjbhfieldofdreams.com/camp-abilities/
Sandra Levine Productions: https://sandralevine.com

Still Time for Joy is also available as a video podcast on YouTube @sandralevineprod

Chip Bruce, who has been captain of the Island Beach State Park Beach Patrol for nearly 20 years—and guarding NJ beaches since the late 1970s—talks about the extensive training his guards undergo to be in shape to keep swimmers safe at this New Jersey Shore gem.

The pristine park is about 10 miles long, located on a barrier peninsula with ocean beaches to the east, Barnegat Bay to the west, and the Barnegat Inlet at the southern tip.

While only part of the ocean beach is guarded for swimming, members of the squad respond to emergencies throughout the park. Captain Bruce talks about the importance of learning how to recognize and get out of a rip current, and of listening to guards as they clear the beaches when stormy weather rolls in, that can include potentially deadly lightning.

Special thanks to Tyler Rowe for his photograph of the 2024 Island Beach State Park Beach Patrol.

Island Beach State Park: https://nj.gov/dep/parksandforests/parks/islandbeachstatepark.html

Sandra Levine Productions: https://sandralevine.com/

Still Time for Joy is also available as a video podcast on YouTube @SandraLevineProd

Seaside Heights, NJ, is working to shed its image as a party town by offering family-friendly activities--many of them free--well into the fall. Mayor Anthony Vaz, who has been a public official in Seaside Heights for more than 30 years, talks about the resilience of this small, Jersey Shore town, that was devastated by Superstorm Sandy in 2012 and effected by a boardwalk fire in 2013.

Watch this episode as a video podcast on YouTube @sandralevineprod