Support Those Affected by Superstorm Sandy

As we all recover from the effects of the recent storm and find ourselves grateful for basics like light, heat, and water, many of us are thinking about how to help those still in need. I spent last Sunday working in Coney Island with Occupy Sandy relief efforts (www.interoccupy.net/occupysandy) and was so inspired by the work being done. I worked with a group of volunteers delivering supplies to residents of the Coney Island Houses on Surf Avenue, still without light and heat nearly two weeks after the storm. Residents on the top floors had been climbing the stairs until the elevators came online on Saturday. If any of you are inspired to help affected communities, volunteers and supplies are urgently needed for both the Rockaways and Coney Island, and you can donate or order supplies online at the above link if you aren’t able or inclined to travel to the city.

Another way to help is to support the 11th grade at Green Meadow Waldorf School, which is collecting food and other supplies for those affected by the storm locally. Items can be dropped off at Green Meadow, 307 Hungry Hollow Rd., Chestnut Ridge, NY 10977. Here’s a note from the students:  “We urge you to bring in non-perishable food items and toiletries, such as canned goods, soups, pasta, rice, beans, peanut butter, diapers, shampoo, and laundry soap. We have collection boxes in the lower school and high school, and as they fill, we will deliver them to families and to the People to People Food Pantry. Please be generous! We will continue the food drive through December.”

Still another way to help, through Green Meadow, is to supply impoverished local families with Thanksgiving dinner. For participants in our Neighbor to Neighbor program, we are collecting food suitable for a Thanksgiving feast. Items can be dropped at the address above, marked “Neighbor to Neighbor”.