Paying it forward to Louisiana

Posted

After seeing the flooding in Louisiana and recalling the devastation after Hurricane Sandy in Island Park, Fire Chief James Sarro sprang into action.

Sarro contacted people who had been active in the relief effort after Sandy, and organized a collection drive for necessities to take to Louisiana flood victims. He contacted fire departments in Oceanside, Long Beach, Baldwin, Freeport and elsewhere, as well as a wide variety of civic groups.

The drive kicked off at the Island Park Firehouse on Sunday, with volunteers collecting and sorting cleaning supplies, personal items and gift cards to help those who have lost so much. “We’re just paying it forward, doing what people did for us after Sandy,” Sarro said.

The Island Park Business and Residential Chamber partnered with the Fire Department, and helped with the initial collection effort.

IPBRCC President Terry Reichel was one of the main organizers of the Fire Department’s collection and distribution efforts after Sandy. Four years ago, she just showed up at the firehouse — her husband, Ray, is an Island Park firefighter — and saw donations piling up. “So I started sorting and organizing the donations,” she recalled. As the days went by and more donations came in, managing them became a huge project, and Reichel helped direct it.

So, this time around, she was one of the first people Sarro called. “This was the kickoff for the next few weeks that we’ll be collecting,” Reichel said. “Trying to get our communities together. It was actually pretty amazing. In some instances it became a little bit of a therapy session for people. You know, we met with people that we haven’t seen in a long time, talked about Sandy, those kinds of things. We collected many, many truckloads of items and started loading up the trailer we have in town. Those items will be taken to Freeport, [and then] to Louisiana.”

There are also $2,000 in gift cards and donations, Reichel added.

Island Park Mayor Michael McGinty dropped by with gift cards. “The Island Park Fire Department, in conjunction with the IPBRCC, has done incredibly exceptional work,” McGinty said. “And their efforts are not fully appreciated sometimes. I tell you, the village board and I appreciate all they do for this village. Does my heart proud to see it.”

Sarro explained that the Fire Department has a locked mailbox on the south side with a sign on it for donations during the day, and people can come by the firehouse after 6 p.m. during the week to drop off donations. There are also bins for donations at the Island Park Library.

Reichel and others drove to Moore, Okla., after the tornadoes there in 2013, and, that same year, to the Mohawk Valley in upstate New York after the flooding there, and gave victims gift cards and cleaning supplies.

All of the current donations will be taken to Louisiana and given directly to those who need it most, according to Sarro and Reichel.

Here is what is needed:

Cleaning supplies, work gloves and masks, laundry soap, mud/rain boots, soap and shampoo, lip balm, new packaged socks, bleach, toilet paper, toiletries, Ziploc bags (quart and larger), contractor bags, storage bins, mops and brooms, paper towels, diapers, feminine hygiene and incontinence products, formula and baby food, water, box fans, utility knives, utility buckets, pry bars, bug spray, pet food and gift cards to Walmart and Home Depot.

There are many drop off points:

Island Park Firehouse, 440 Long Beach Road: Steve Ruscio, (516) 477-3781

Island Park Business and Residential Chamber of Commerce: Terry Reichel, 322-5999

Oceanside Firehouse, 65 Foxhurst Road: JT. Madden, 766-2717

ACTION: Ellen Cutler-Igoe, 662-9447

Freeport Fire Department, 15 Broadway: Ray Maguire, 377-2190

Long Beach Fire Department, 1 West Chester Street: Scott Kemins, 431-2434

Lido Beach: Jamie and Christina Shaw, 46 E. Park Ave. or 2086 Wantagh Ave.

Ben’s Contracting and United Friends of America, 19 Suffolk St., Freeport: 623-2945

Baldwin Fire Department, 2386 Grand Ave.: 223-7670

Babylon-Hope Floats: Theresa Dipietro, (631) 861-4673

Legislator DuWayne Gregory, 15 Albany Ave, Amityville: drop-off Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

A fundraiser is scheduled for Sept. 1 at Billy’s Beach Café, from 6 to 8 p.m., and the proceeds will benefit Denham Springs (La.) Junior High School, which was inundated by more than three feet of water. Drop school supplies off in Long Beach at Marti Renoud-DiPaola, 415 E. Park Ave., 532-7626, and Sharyl Rice, 547 E. Market St., 521-0300.

On Sept. 3 there will be a Fill the Truck event at the Stop & Shop at 575 W. Montauk Highway, West Babylon, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

On the web:

Together Baton Rouge, www.togetherbr.org/

Southern Baptists: https://donations.namb.net/dr-donations

Episcopal Relief: www.episcopalrelief.org/us-disaster-fund

Samaritan’s Purse: www.samaritanspurse.org/donation-items/us-disaster-relief-donation/

United Way’s Southeast Louisiana Flood Relief program: www.unitedwaysela.org/flood