If this is what the Scorpions meant by being rocked like a hurricane, then the New York, New Jersey, Connecticut tri-state will pass on the offer next time…thank you very much, Klaus Meine.
Jam-rocker Trey Anastasio from Phish (seen above in Red Hook, photo by John Del Signore at Gothamist) was among the multitudes of people who helped in Hurricane Sandy relief efforts over the weekend. And since people will be needing help, food, supplies, warmth and more for quite some time going forward, we all need to find time to volunteer as often as we can. So, I wanted to provide some good ways and resources for getting involved.
I’m sure if you are in the area, the opportunities to help have presented themselves to you in many ways and many of you have already been pitching in or have plans to. But as for people outside of the tri-state area who are wondering what are some of the best ways to help, well I’m glad you asked. Dig this list:
Please make online purchases of blankets, warm clothing, socks, rubber boots, diapers (esp. toddler sizes), formula, wipes, water, flashlights, batteries & stick-n-click lights and have it shipped directly to City Councilmember James Sanders Jr., 1526 Central Ave, Far Rockaway, NY 11691.
Other options: donate money to CAAAV (http://caaav.org/), FUREE (furee.org/), GOLES (www.goles.org/), Q4EJ (q4ej.org/), Red Hook Initiative (http://rhicenter.org/). These are groups with real ties to the affected communities who will be able to make long-term investments that will best serve their members and communities. More information on local organizations can be found here: http://interoccupy.net/occupysandy/
And dig this, you can purchase items on a Hurricane Sandy relief Amazon wishlist, and it will be auto-shipped straight to where it is badly-needed.
Help now and help often. Keep in mind that the victims of the hurricane will need help for quite some time going forward, long after the news cameras have left the areas and other news stories are pushed to the forefront. And the holiday/Winter season is going to be especially hard as many are left without housing and the comforts that every human being should be entitled to. Keep them in your hearts through the Winter.
