Occupy Sandy has volunteer and donation sites listed by neighborhood. The main volunteer site is located at St. Jacobi Church (5406 4th Ave) in Sunset Park. A second site at the Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew
(520 Clinton Avenue, between Fulton & Atlantic) in Clinton Hill is also accepting volunteers and donations. 9am – 9pm
If you would like to help out with animal rescue and fostering, pet food donation or volunteering at animal shelters in NYC, visit the
Mayor's Alliance for NYC Animals. The page also provides information for pet owners seeking aid. You can also use the Twitter hashtag
#sandypets for updated information on where help is most needed.
BY BOROUGH:
BROOKLYN:
Bedford-Stuyvesant
Freebrook Academy (375 Stuyvesant Ave. at Decatur St.) is accepting donations. Their drive goes until Monday, Nov. 5 at 3pm.
Residence - 136 Jefferson Ave, apt 2 11216
Fort Greene
Brooklyn Technical High School is looking for volunteers to help prepare and serve meals. They are also accepting donations of money and bagging clothing.
Park Slope
Councilman Brad Lander says volunteers are needed at both the Park Slope Armory (8th Avenue between 14th and 15th streets) and
John Jay High School (7th Avenue between 4th and 5th streets). He says you should be willing to put in a 6-8 hour shift. Kids cannot volunteer and should stay at home.
Park Slope Armory is an emergency shelter in need of volunteers and donations. In particular, they need overnight volunteers and donations of men's and women's clothing, sizes L, XL, XXL.
Red Hook
The Red Hook Initiative is collecting toilet paper, water, candles, food, flashlights, cell phone chargers, batteries, paper towels, and paper for printers.
Here are details on The Red Hook Initiative's operations for the week of Nov. 5:
Volunteers
Please report to 402 Van Brunt Street
10am - 5pm
Hot Meals
Hot meals should be delivered to 767 Hicks Street
11am - 6pm
Please tell us if you plan to deliver hot food and at what time. We'd like to try to make sure we have enough and that we don't get too much knowing other communities need the same.
If you plan to bring a meal, send an email to
food@rhicenter.org
Cleaning Supplies / Water Pumps/Generators
Please deliver to 402 Van Brunt Street
10am - 5pm
Canned Food/ Non-perishables / Flashlights/ Candles/ Blankets
Please deliver to 767 Hicks Street OR
Good Shepherd Services, 173 Conover Street OR
Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 98 Richards Street/ Verona Street
10am - 5pm
Williamsburg
House of Yes: 342 Maujer Street, contact: Kae Burke (585) 217-7209. Accepting donations of supplies, food, water, but not clothing, from 10am-10pm through Friday.
MANHATTAN:
Harlem: Volunteering and donation
Residence 47 St Nicholas Avenue, #4D between 112 and 113
938 St Nicholas Avenue, #25 corner of 157th and St Nicholas Avenue
Lower East Side:
Lower East Side Recovers is an effort to match volunteers and givers with people who have needs in the Lower East Side, coordinated by the folks at Occupy NYC and community organizations on the ground.
The Bowery Mission is accepting donations for the homeless at both locations. Volunteers should report only to the Bowery Street location. 45-51 Avenue D, (212)777-3424 and 227 Bowery (212) 674-3456.
Upper West Side:
Brandeis High School on West 84th Street is in need of overnight volunteers.
Upper East Side:
Saloon NYC is accepting donations to the Rockaways and Broad Channel. Supplies and food (no clothing, please) dropped off there will be delivered to St. Francis des Sales church in Belle Harbor, NY. 1584 York Avenue, New York, NY 10028 (Between 83rd & 84th St) 212.570.5454
STATEN ISLAND:
SI Live has a list of organizations and locations accepting monetary donations and goods.
QUEENS:
Astoria: Astoria Recovers is connecting volunteers and givers in the Queens neighborhood.
Breezy Point: Virginia's House of Hope is non-perishable foods, toiletries, diapers, clothing and clean-up supplies to people impacted by the disaster.
202-30 Rockaway Point Boulevard Breezy Point, Queens 11697
202-30 Rockaway Point Boulevard
Breezy Point, Queens 11697
Far Rockaway:
The Silver Gull Club is accepting donations to help Breezy Point. They are collecting batteries, flashlights, toiletries, water, food, blankets/bedding and other necessities. No clothing, please. 1 Beach 193rd Street (718) 634-1500
Drop-off location for goods like clothing, batteries food and water:
- Firehouse on 59th street across from the train station - contact person: Jean Dupont 917.975.5623
- Veggie Island - 96th Street and Rockaway Blvd.
- Store Front Community Center - B113 and Rockaway Beach Blvd.
Rockaway Recovery has instructions on how to aid in getting food and goods to Far Rockaway.
NEW JERSEY:
Community Food Bank of NJ is seeking food donations - call 908.355.3663 or
visit the website to find out how and where to give.
Jersey Cares is coordinating volunteers with opportunities near them. Sherry Fazio, with NJ Cares, says the most important thing to do is register with their website to help in the coming weeks as projects look for help. If her family is any indication, she expects water, blankets and non-perishable food will be items requested in the days to come.
An emergency response hotline: 1-800-JERSEY-7 (1-800-537-7397) - they're looking for trained volunteers who are affiliated with an emergency response organization to volunteer their services. Gov. Chris Christie's office says the hotline is getting an overwhelming response, so another number to try is 609-218-0460.
LONG ISLAND:
The Town of Oyster Bay is holding a clothing drive that continues until 5pm on Sunday. Donations can be brought to three locations: Marjorie R. Post Community Park, Syosset-Woodbury Community Park, and Oyster Bay Community Center.
WESTCHESTER:
Federal Government:
The
Federal Emergency Management Agency says the president's disaster declarations in parts of New York and New Jersey following Hurricane Sandy could free up loans and grants to homeowners and small businesses. Relief may also include unemployment and other payments, to residents who are not covered by insurance, or aren't already receiving benefits from their states. For more information, and to find out if they're eligible, residents can log on to
disaster assistance.gov, or call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. on weekdays and weekends.
General volunteering:
Give Blood: The
New York Blood Center says it was in need of blood even before the storm, but the storm has made the need greater. Five locations are currently open: in Midtownat 601 Lexington (the Citigroup building), in the Upper East Side on 67th Street between 1st and 2nd Ave, at the Elmsford Center in Westchester County, and the East Fishkill and Kingston Center, both located in the Hudson Valley.
Give Clothes: The shelter at
FDR High School in Midwood is outfitting people who got stuck near the Gowanus Canal.
Give Service: People are being directed to sign up at
NYCService for volunteer opportunities.
Food Bank of New York is open and distributing food. It has also been in contact with agencies it supports to find out need. With the opening of the bridges and tunnels, it says it will be able to get trucks in, but recommends going to
its website for how to help.
Food not bombs is looking for volunteers to
help set up staging areas in the the city to help prepare meals on site. For more information, go here.
House the Displaced: The online service
Airbnb is waiving fees on discounted Sandy listings. You can offer extra rooms in your home for those displaced by the storm on their website.
Follow the Hashtag:
#sandyvolunteer has become the unofficial hashtag for those looking to volunteer and those looking for help.
Finding Family or Friends
With problems in the cellphone networks and the power outages,
The Red Cross has set up a registry for people looking for friends and family or wanting to send a message to friends and family that they are safe.