A Time for Giving Thanks ... and Lending a Hand

Submitted by BC31 Board Member Mike Wellons

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of year to gather as a family and community to reflect on our many blessings and give thanks for continued good health and well-being.  It's hard to believe that almost a month has gone by since Hurricane Sandy roared ashore causing unprecedented devastation, and three weeks since our "pick-up game of marathon" raised $10,000 for the storm victims.  While many of us experienced the "inconvenience" of power outages and tree/property damage as a result of the storm, the BaseCamp31 community can be thankful we did not experience the destruction delivered to NJ/NY closer to the shore.  As described in the blog below, the Sandy Relief funds and community volunteer efforts are being directed to the Jersey Shore, Staten Island, and locally, with the first team of volunteers caravanning to the Jersey Shore two weeks ago.

In that spirit, on Saturday Nov 24 2012 a second group of volunteers ventured to Staten Island, delivering supplies to the Hurricane Sandy relief efforts of the Steven Siller Foundation, lending a helping hand for the day at the associated Food Pantry, and/or doing demolition work.  The Food Pantry provides food, personal hygiene, cleaning supplies, and clothing to those families in need as a result of the storm.  Our supplies were welcomed and needed - we personally saw some of our supplies work their way into the warehouse, out onto the distribution floor, and into the hands of local residents all in a single day!  While many of the recipients were weary from a month of hard living, they were very grateful for the generosity of the community to support them in their time of need.

Much like the group that went to Oceangate, NJ two weeks ago, a couple of us were able to see the full effects of Sandy's devastation on Staten Island as we helped pull out sodden wallboard from a home a couple of blocks from the open water.  Some of the streets are still cluttered with trash and debris, several homes were being bulldozed (literally) as we drove by, and the shoulder height water/mud lines on some homes was still visible.




Life has yet to return to normal for some residents of Staten Island (nor will it for quite awhile), but they were extremely thankful for the donations of supplies and helping hands that were made possible by the Sandy Relief Marathon donations.