There are a lot of things to be thankful for this week and I can't help be reminded of that every time I read something new about the devastation Sandy reaped on the NE not too long ago. I'm a huge believer in philanthropy and am ashamed to say that when I moved to NYC my volunteer log slowly depleted. I've used every NYer excuse possible when it came to justifying my lapse; I work too late, it takes too long to get anywhere, I paid to go to a charity dinner just the other week.
I decided it's time to stop going down that selfish path and dedicated last Thursday to helping victims of Sandy through New York Cares. I chose to go to Staten Island to a distribution center, and with 15 other people, sorted through 4 huge storage facilities of donations from all over the US. We then proceded to Cooney Island to serve hot meals to those who stil do not have electricity and pass out boxed food to those in need of Thanksgiving supplies. And just guess who they put in charge of of making sure people only came through the line once! Yes, me, the most empathetic person in the world... I had to buck up though and explain to too many that we only had enough food for people to go through the line once and that it was not very neighborly of them to take from others.. Did it work every time? Nope, but no matter what these people needed it.After such a selfless day, I just wanted to suggest a couple agencies that our hosting volunteer days for Sandy victims for those who have no idea where to start!
1. New York Cares
Great, because they provide transportation for those NYers who don't want to spend hours getting somewhere. Albeit, a huge yellow school bus, but that brought back a lot of memories!
2. Jersey Cares
3. The Huffington Post
Huff has put together an interactive map of all volunteer opportunities for post-Thanksgiving. It's pretty comprehensive, and they will even add events that you send them.
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