HURRICANE SANDY 2012

Short-term options:

Several organizations are recruiting and organizing volunteers and are collecting donations to aid relief efforts:

 

Donate to the Salvation Army USA (the official organization responsible for emergency food distribution according to the Office of Emergency Management in New York):

If you donate here at SA  you can specify what area you want your donation to provide for (e.g., New York)

Help with a donation or by volunteering through Hope for New York HFNY  you can donate online or, if you live in New York, by volunteering

You can volunteer with one of these groups: Volunteer1 ,

or you can sign up to be notified when volunteer opportunities arise:  Volunteer2

Donate to the American Red Cross at RedCross1, by texting REDCROSS to 90999, or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767)

Donate to one of the following organizations:

DonateHurricane

Give to the British Red Cross’s Hurricane Sandy Appeal (for the US and the Caribbean) SandyHelp

Donate to Catholic Relief Services, which is helping victims in the Caribbean: CRSSandy

Donate to Oxfam’s Haitian relief effort: Oxfam (theoretically, this is relief for Hurricane Isaac, a storm that hit Haiti a few months before Sandy)

If you live in an affected area, help neighbors, local places of worship, or community organizations in whatever way they need

Issue:  Hurricane Sandy 2012

On October 24, 2012, Hurricane Sandy caused flooding in Haiti that killed 50 people.  From there, it only gained power as it tore across Cuba, leaving destruction in its wake.  In total, about 70 people in the Caribbean died as a result of the terrible storm.  On October 26, the southern United States experienced severe weather and flooding of coastal highways.  Three days later, severe snowstorms began in the Appalachians and the storm at sea began to take more victims (2 aboard a sinking sailboat were killed, though their 14 companions were luckily rescued).  Power outages began in eastern American cities.  Later that day, Sandy made landfall in New Jersey and a 14-foot storm surge hit New York.  Coastal areas flooded, as did train stations, subways, and traffic tunnels.  In Queens, the storm started fires which left 50 or so houses in wreckage.  In total, 109 Americans were killed, including 40 New Yorkers, and 20 residents of Staten Island, the hardest-hit borough. News

Organizations:

Long term options:

  • Start a donation drive at your school for any of the listed organizations.
  • Raise awareness and funds by holding a fundraising event in your community or school. This could be a concert, bake sale, dance, ice cream social, or any other such activity.
  • Start a fund-raising club or group at your school which would host multiple events like those described above.  In Haiti, this is a new disaster added to the longer term difficulties which were already confronting the area.
  • Hold a collection contest at your school. Have a sponsor provide pizza for the classroom which collects the most money.
  • If you are able to help, go to New York or New Jersey and help out with local relief efforts through the volunteer organizations mentioned in column 1 or through other organized relief efforts.