Additional Help

     For those at the NJ shore as well as in Northern NJ, the return to normalcy after the the storm has been slow.  I spoke to my brother in north Jersey today and they are still without power and aren't expecting to have it for another week.  He described gas lines that are literally hours long and most businesses and schools are still closed.  As I sit in my warm and comfortable house, it's hard to appreciate the challenge that so many people are going through and will continue to face.  And so, when I learned of another local effort to help out, I was didn't hesitate to respond quickly.

     I learned through a FB post from a friend, that another friend in town, Lorenzo Eagles, has a brother who is a director of Boys' and Girls' clubs toward the shore.  The clubs were going to be open to feed people, and Lorenzo and his family were planning to go today to help provide meals to relief workers and other families in need.  When I spoke to them, they had already made 175 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and were collecting other food to bring down.  My son Ben and I went shopping and picked up some cases of water, 12-packs of gatorade, juice boxes, bags of apples, and boxes of breakfast bars and delivered them to the Eagles' house to add to their lunch supplies.  Once again, it's great to see how many different people are involved doing what they can to help those who are struggling right now.

Some Sandy Relief

     For those of us in NJ, and much of the east coast, the main topic in the news has of course been the aftermath of the hurricane/tropical storm Sandy.  On a personal basis, my family and I were fortunate to escape with virtually no damage and no power loss.  Millions of others were not so lucky.

     There seems to be quite a disconnect between what many news stations and websites are reporting and what those on the street are reporting via Facebook and other social media outlets.  The consensus seems to be that despite the best efforts of many, millions of people are really struggling.  Many are still without power (and aren't close to getting it), and more significantly, thousands of people have literally lost their homes and/or most of what they own.  It is truly devastating.  

     On the positive side, thousands of people across so many different communities are pitching in to help those in need.  It's another reminder of just how caring and compassionate most Americans are (I don't know one way or another how this compares to other countries).  There are lots of ways to contribute to this relief effort.  This morning, a friend of mine posted on Facebook that some people in our town had rented a U-Haul truck and were going to be collecting items for delivery from 1-5 pm.  I decided to step in and help.

     While out doing some errands today, my daughter and I stopped by Target and picked up some batteries, toothpaste, tooth brushes, deodorant, shampoo, soap, body wash, and a few other items people might need.  We loaded them in our car together with some clothes from home and a case of water bottles we had previously bought and brought them over to the pickup spot.  It was very cool to see people chipping in to help strangers like this.

     This will most assuredly not be the end of my efforts to assist those affected by the storm.  I'll surely do more things in the coming weeks.  I really it amazing to see people come together like this - a reminder of the goodness that I believe is human nature.