Thursday, November 8, 2012 Page B1
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Photos by Marisol Díaz
JOAN STARK, a member of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale, adds to the synagogue’s collection of food and clothing on Monday.
Hard times lead to heartfelt help By Kate Pastor kpastor@riverdalepress.com
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hildren made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches; volunteers sorted clothing; countless residents contributed batteries, canned goods, garbage bags, cleaning supplies, coats and even pet food, while others used some of their last gasoline to deliver relief. As local residents began to grasp the depth of need in the areas hardest hit by superstorm Sandy, they stepped up with great outpourings of generosity. “It’s just been remarkable to see hundreds of people coming together donating and tons of cars going out to communities in need,” said Rabbi Avi Weiss of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. Rabbi Ari Hart, also of HIR, said he made his first trip down to the Lower East Side last Tuesday to bring water and food to residents. Since then, he said, “We’ve just been ramping up our efforts,” noting that donations have already reached all five boroughs and that residents helped salvage damaged books, clean out basements and feed the hungry. In conjunction with Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale and Riverdale Jewish Center, HIR sent out about 20 vans to Christian Fellowship Church on East Gunhill Road on Sunday to contribute to what Rabbi Bob Kaplan said would be a caravan to Far Rockaway. “We talked about it a lot over Shabbat and said this is really a time for us to step up as a community,” Rabbi Hart said. The effort to help prompted HIR member Shira Berkowits, with family on Staten Island, to create a shared online “Google Doc,” to keep contributors informed of what items to give and
where to give them. Riverdale Presbyterian Church took up a collection of blankets and batteries over the weekend, which were already delivered to Staten Island families. PS 24 families amassed hundreds of water bottles, nearly a dozen bags of canned food, diapers, toothpaste and other toiletries, which were given to Sandy victims in Far Rockaway on Monday. “Class moms” Liz Phelan and Carolyn Guarriello sorted out the school’s lost and found while preparing to wash and donate dozens of gloves, scarves and hats. The Riverdale YM-YWHA sent out an e-mail blast and Facebook alert on Sunday morning and by mid-afternoon had collected dozens of coats, hats, gloves, pet supplies, food and about 30 bags of sheets, towels and blankets. “I woke up this morning very depressed,” said Lisa Bruskin, the Y’s fitness, wellness and membership sales director, who added coat collector to her title over the weekend. “A lot of people in Riverdale have a lot of kids, a lot of leftover stuff,” she said, so she plans to work with the 50th Precinct to distribute it. It wasn’t just religious institutions that chipped in and not all of the relief efforts were directed outside the community. More than 100 volunteers from the Friends of Van Cortlandt Park, the Van Cortlandt Park Conservancy and Community Board 8 came together to clear downed trees from trails throughout the park. Last week, more than a dozen ambulettes could be seen arriving at Manhattanville Health Care Center, on West 231st Street, when the facility took in 14 patients from another nursing facility, according to Administrator Uri Schwartz. “We put them in the empty beds for now just
LIZ PHELAN and Carolyn Guarriello, outside of PS 24 on Monday, inspect lost and found items bound for Far Rockaway families in need.
MICHAEL LASKIN helps his daughter Naomi, 6, make peanut butter sandwiches on Monday for people affected by Sandy. The event was organized and held at Hebrew Institute of Riverdale. to make sure they have a place to say,” he said. The Hebrew Home at Riverdale also took in 15 rehab patients from NYU Rusk Institute in Manhattan, as well as 18 patients from Menorah nursing home, according to Wendy Steinberg. Ms. Steinberg said the facility was trying to accommodate all those who need a place to stay. “We’re receiving multiple calls every day from people seeking shelter,” she said last week. Somebody posted on The Riverdale Press website that Ahna Pultinas, 10, and Simon Pultinas, 6, with help from their parents and neighbors, raised more than $225 on Saturday afternoon by selling apple cider and homemade pumpkin muffins in front 6495 Broadway. All of the proceeds from the sale will be donated to the American Red Cross. An Beal Bocht Café made a call for donations on Friday and by Saturday morning had enough to fill up a car with items, most of which were left at St. Francis de Sales Parish in Belle Harbor, N.Y. By Monday morning, half of the café’s second room was piled high with at least 100 bags, and donations ranging from diapers to coffee and teapots. The haul was more than organizers had expected and they dropped the donations off at Christian Fellowship Church, which is sorting and determining what is still needed, according to An Beal Bocht organizer
Pat Gilheany. Gleeson’s Sports Bar has also been collecting items, including toilet paper, water, canned goods and boxed food, and has loaded a pickup truck daily to deliver the items to hard hit areas. Despite the outpouring, many more people still need help.
See page B2 for how you can contribute to the recovery.
DIAPERS and toiletries sit outside An Beal Bocht before they are picked up for delivery.
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