The devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Sandy has broken my heart, and left me at a loss of what to do to help this region. Call me cynical, but I have a hard time just blindly donating my money to an umbrella service program, and would always much rather go, and do, and give my time instead of charitable contributions.
But when my dear friend Lindsay wrote me this email, I knew that I found how my resources could best be put to use:
"I am writing with a favor to ask and you are by no means obligated to do it. As you guys know, I am originally from New Jersey and my area was devastated by Hurricane Sandy last week. In trying to figure out how I could help from a distance, I was able to get in contact with the administrators at my old grade school. My town has one school which goes from kindergarten through 8th grade. It took on 3 feet of water from this storm and is going to be closed for at least 5 weeks, but likely longer. The kids have lost everything- school supplies, books, the library, etc. In collaboration with two other classmates (class of '96!), we have established an Amazon Wish list with a list of items given to us by the superintendent of the school. We are trying to gather school supplies by next Monday, November 11, which is when the kids will be bused to three other schools (in neighboring towns). The supplies are being shipped to our local high school (addressed to the MB Elementary PTO president), which now has a trailer to handle all incoming donations."
If you want to join me in helping the Monmouth Beach School students, and I sincerely hope you do, please check out this Amazon Wish List. They have already experienced such generous contributions, but there are a few things left, and every little bit helps these children return to normal and get their focus back on their studies instead of the tremendous tragedy they are facing in their home state.
