First off I want to say: being sick sucks!
I just saw our daughter and her boyfriend off to Brooklyn, NY. They had come down for my father-in-law's memorial service this past weekend.
As they could not get bus or train service from where they live they chose to drive her band's van down and could not see going back with an empty van when there were so many who are lacking basic items in much of coastal NY and NJ.
We packed her band's Mercedes Sprinter van with as much in supplies as we could, all donated by folks in our neighborhood and a couple small churches we contacted here in Newark, Delaware.
The items included winter coats, boots, blankets, canned food, water, paper towels, toilet paper, flashlights and batteries, diapers, formula, cleaning supplies, gas Coleman stoves, and lots of other items.
Most of it will go to the Distribution Center in South Brooklyn (a few 5 gallon containers of gas are for her neighbors who have drained the fuel tanks of their cars to run generators for electricity).
From there the items get sorted and redistributed to the different communities as the organizers know best which area needs what.
Our daughter's friends have been organizing and volunteering in the harder hit areas. They say that some Red Cross and FEMA help is there, but not always in the time frame or the type of assistance that is really needed.
A number of them have gone to the Rockaways and other hard hit areas daily to prepare and hand out meals, distribute goods and help clean up where folks still have little to no support.
Anyone who thinks the 20-somethings of this day and age are lacking motivation should hear about the efforts going on; it is amazing what is being done through social media.
A lot of it grew out of the organization behind the Occupy Wall Street movement, which is now running the South Brooklyn Distribution Center and many in-the-field operations.
Check out the Facebook page: "Occupy Sandy Relief NYC".
Yesterday about 200 military personnel were given orientation by the Occupy Sandy Relief NYC organizers, as the military responders were unaware of how best to help.
Another group helping in the response is YANA (You Are Not Alone), also a group of citizens who saw a need and stepped in.
Another organization I think is neat is The Fuel Relief Fund.
See their website at:
http://fuelrelieffund.org
They drove out from California with semi-truck tankers, purchased gas at nearby refineries and are giving it away.
They know that after food, water, and shelter, the need for fuel is the next most important determinant in peoples' survival of a natural disaster.
These folks, from the board of directors all the way down to the oil industry management, drivers, and those who dispense the gas are non-paid volunteers; none of them are compensated for their time and efforts.
They arrived in Hoboken, then moved to Staten Island, and as of yesterday morning had dispensed 6000 gallons of gas; always beginning with the first-responders, then the populace.
If you are so inclined, hit their website and make a donation.
Lots of shut-ins and senior citizens in the hard hit areas are running out of basic needs items and medicines for serious conditions like diabetes, cardiac conditions, and asthma.
A friend who like me is a nurse and runs a small business in North Carolina has sent most of her staff of nurses through the Red Cross to the Northeast to assist in efforts including going door-to-door to assess health status, needs, and to get prescriptions filled and basic needs met.
Reports from the field from my crew in NJ is that the infrastructure work alone could well keep them there for a while.
They still have no electricity and the cold has been a challenge.
They have been taking trees off of some homes and buildings and clearing affected electrical distribution lines (with a small 40' boom truck - all we could find at the time).
The township just asked if they would work exclusively with the township electrical crews for a few days to facilitate getting the electricity back on.
I just received a large check from a former customer who now lives in Europe who stays in touch with me (the postal fees to get it here fast -wow!).
He retired back there after working here at the University for over thirty years.
He appreciates that we maintained his trees for years and wanted to help offset our loss of income while the crew volunteers to help folks get their power back on.
I say people really are basically good... I don't care what anyone else thinks!
The first few days it was very heartening to see the large number of tree and line crews from all over streaming past on I-95, all heading North with their flashers on - such a symbol of solidarity.
I know any and all efforts toward helping are much appreciated.
I hope Rob and Ben and anyone else in the disaster area are staying safe.
If you look at the list of deaths related to the storm system, the number killed by falling trees or branches was about 21%:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busin...41b46e-25fe-11e2-92f8-7f9c4daf276a_story.html
As soon as I am over this flu/sinusitis that felled me I'll be heading up there with another truck, the spare chipper, supplies and tree tools.
Be safe out there and stay warm.