Have unused Gillian’s Wonderland Pier tickets? This teacher is donating them to local kids.

As Gillian’s Wonderland Pier in Ocean City, N.J., heads for its unthinkable final day, tentatively announced as Oct. 13, one local teacher had a message for all those who loved the pier, and, like so many, have unused tickets, mostly bought in advance at half-price.

“Just don’t throw them away,” Kelly Morgan, an eighth-grade math teacher in Pleasantville, N.J., wrote in posts on Facebook. “I can get them into the hands of families who really may not be able to go otherwise.”

And so she has. Since posting on Labor Day weekend, the Pleasantville Middle School teacher has received nearly 10,000 unused tickets, some dating back to 2007, all of which were supposed to “never expire.”

But as quickly as the tickets come in, she is donating them to local families, including secretaries and security guards in Pleasantville, teachers in Ventnor, and firefighters in Atlantic City, where her husband is a fire captain.

She’s got families reaching out to her on Facebook asking for the tickets, many with stories about financial hardships. The pier is aimed at families with children about 10 and under, and she’s estimating about 100 tickets (or credits, as they’re called by Gillian’s) per child for a decent outing.

There’s no admission fee for the park itself, but each ride requires four, five or six tickets, which are sold full price at $1 each, but many people purchase at half-price during pre-sales. The credits are loaded into Gillian’s system and stored on a plastic card.

After the posts, and a story on NBC10, she said, the supply and the demand have continued to build. Mayor Jay Gillian, whose family has run amusement parks in Ocean City for 94 years, announced the shocking closure of Gillian’s last month and said the business was no longer viable. The property, at Sixth and the Boardwalk, is owned by developer Eustace Mita, who has not disclosed his plans for the space. He has previously floated plans for a hotel on the Boardwalk.

“I’m getting tickets daily,” Morgan said. “I’ve had people who said, ‘We’re coming down in for the weekend, my husband just lost his job, and we really want to go.’ I’m mailing tickets to people. Dozens of people have reached out to get tickets.”

Morgan said people who want to mail her tickets can reach out to her on Facebook, or they can drop them off or mail them to the Downbeach Deli in Margate, where she also works. (c/o Kelly Morgan, 8 Essex Avenue, Margate, N.J. 08402.) She’s happy to pick up from people’s mailboxes if they’re local.

She’s still seeing tickets offered for sale on Facebook. “That makes me laugh,” she said. “You kind of missed the boat at this point. Give them to a neighbor. Drop them off at the Boys & Girls Club. Go to a church.”

Many ticket cards have smaller amounts left (Morgan looks up each card up to see how much is left), and so are more useful when bundled together and donated, as Morgan is doing. Gillian’s has long held an annual pre-season half-price sale, and many people stock up.

The announced closing of the iconic Ocean City institution, where generations have taken their littlest children to ride the rides Down the Shore, continues to upset people in town. Residents have pleaded for some way to save the pier they say defines Ocean City.

» READ MORE: A sad goodbye to Wonderland Pier

Over the weekend, Gillian told a packed community meeting that he tried and failed to keep the pier open.

Gillian, who has come under scrutiny for his shaky finances and financial entanglements with prominent developers, blamed the closure on Hurricane Sandy, the COVID-19 lockdowns, and the increase in New Jersey’s minimum wage, which he said doubled his payroll from $40,000 to $80,000.

Many attending feared that the loss of Gillian’s would be a severe blow to Ocean City’s reputation as a family resort, with one local resident, Helen Struckmann, calling Ocean City “an endangered species,” according to news reports.

People who want to mail their tickets can reach out to Morgan on Facebook, or drop them off or mail them to the Downbeach Deli in Margate. (c/o Kelly Morgan, 8 Essex Avenue, Margate, N.J. 08402.)