NORWICH – After narrowly avoiding the brunt of Hurricane Sandy, Chenango County residents might be looking for ways to help with relief efforts, both locally and for the East Coast that was ravaged by flood and fire. Several county figures are stepping in to guide those looking to lend a helping hand now that the storm has passed.
To help those most impacted by the devastating storm, county emergency officials are advising locals to veer away from donating physical items and instead, donate money to appropriate emergency management agencies like the Salvation Army or the Red Cross to help fund relief efforts.
“We all see the devastation in other areas and we want to help. As a result, kindhearted people begin organizing donation drives for food, clothing and other items,” explained City of Norwich Emergency Management Officer A. Wesley Jones in a letter sent yesterday to area businesses and non-profit administrators. “I can tell you from experience that in disaster after disaster, there just isn’t the ability to deliver these types of goods directly into the hands of those who need them,” the letter stated.
According to Jones, items like clothing, toiletries – even toys and some food – were largely donated after other natural disasters in recent years, including Hurricane Katrina that devastated the New Orleans area in 2005, and more locally, Hurricane Irene and Tropical Storm Lee in 2011. “Everybody just wants to help,” he said. “But what you don’t see on TV is the warehouses that have to be rented to store all this stuff.”
In many cases, donated items sit for long periods of time before they’re eventually hauled away to landfills. Jones said the best way to avoid this unfortunate scenario is simply to make a monetary donation. “There are already mechanisms in place to get help to people in a much more efficient manner,” he said. “It is much better to provide cash donations to an organization that has years of experience and systems already in place for getting help directly to people.”
The Chenango County Red Cross has already stepped up relief efforts for areas impacted by the storm. Red Cross worker Michael May said the disaster agency is already planning a possible deployment of a Disaster Action Team to the East Coast.
“Right now, there are over 100 (Red Cross) shelters open across the Northeast and East Coast, and we will probably open more,” he said.
May also explained the increased need for blood donations. “We are looking to reschedule blood drives due to the storm,” he said. As Sandy swept across the Northeast, hundreds of blood drives were canceled, resulting in a depletion of the blood supply. Moreover, hospitals along the coast are calling for more blood to treat those wounded during the storm.
Although Chenango County was, for the most part, unaffected by Sandy, hundreds of residents heeded the warnings leading up the unprecedented storm conditions that weather experts are referring to as “the new normal.” Grocery store shelves were quickly cleared of bread, water and other non-perishable foods. Now that the storm has passed, Jones said there’s an excellent alternative for people who stockpiled food: “Local food pantries and similar organizations would be a much better choice for those donations. Many of these (organizations) have near empty shelves and could really use the assistance.”
In August, 17 Chenango County food pantries were denied financial assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, despite an unyielding need for food assistance in the county. Mostly reliant on individual donations, Father Chuck Taylor of the United Church of Christ said the Our Daily Bread Food Pantry in Norwich could use donations, as pantry shelves slowly run bare.
“We’re always seeking assistance,” said Taylor, noting that the pantry serves 40-50 individuals on an average day. “People are generous and that’s what allows us to do what we do,” he added. “With winter months coming and bills increasing for heating and so forth, there’s less money for people to buy food ... Extra donations would be wonderful.”
For additional information about monetary donations to hurricane relief efforts, visit the Red Cross website, www.redcross.org.