OPPORTUNITIES TO VOLUNTEER TO HELP SANDY VICTIMS THIS WEEKEND

We recently received the following updates about volunteering from Councilwoman Gale Brewer:

Volunteers are needed for both Saturday, December 15th and Sunday, December 16th. Buses will be departing from 250 Broadway at 10am and will be going to…one of the affected neighborhoods. We appreciate your help in the past and hope you can join us again.

Please RSVP to SandyRelief@council.nyc.gov with your name, email and cell number and which day that you would like to join us, and we’ll get back to you with information about those days. And please forward this information to any friends or families to let them know that others still need help!

Don’t forget to check out our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VolunteersForSandyRelief.

Best,

Sandy Relief

Red Hook, Brooklyn:  Since Tuesday, November 20, 2012, the Red Hook Initiative no longer coordinates hurricane relief volunteer efforts in the community. Instead, they have focused  their recovery efforts on providing comprehensive social services, economic recovery through job training and development, and strategically planning recovery and prevention efforts with other Red Hook coalition partners. If you are still interested in volunteering in Red Hook around hurricane relief, an independent group has set up a new volunteer network. You may sign up to volunteer in Red Hook through them by telephone at 718-306-9149 and email at redhookvolunteers@gmail.com.

CITYWIDE

Blood Donations Needed: Blood supplies were critically affected by the storm, as the same outages that affect our region also affect many donation sites. The New York Blood Center locations are open and operating, and if you can, please consider donating blood. Blood donations can be scheduled by calling 1-800-933-2566 or visiting https://www.nybloodcenter.org.

To assist New Yorkers affected by Hurricane Sandy with donations of cash, goods, services, or to volunteer, please visit: https://www.nyc.gov/html/nycservice/home.html. The Mayor’s Fund is accepting financial donations from organizations and individuals to support hurricane relief efforts. One hundred percent of donations are being dispersed to relief efforts and organizations. The City is currently identifying immediate aid needs, including food, water and hygiene supplies, as well as long-term relief and restoration efforts. To donate by mail, make checks payable to Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City and send to 253 Broadway, 8th Floor, New York City, New York 10007 (in memo line: Hurricane Sandy Relief) or donate online at https://www.nyc.gov/html/fund/html/donate/donate.shtml.  For any questions or to donate over the phone call 311 (212-NEW-YORK outside New York City).

Donations can also be made to the Food Bank of NYC at https://secure3.convio.net/fbnyc/site/Donation2?idb=1474389737&df_id=2781&2781.donation=form1, Met Council on Jewish Poverty at https://www.metcouncil.org , Citymeals on Wheels at https://www.citymeals.org,  and New York Cares at https://www.nycares.org.