Last week, when Hurricane Sandy hit, New England and New York City were devastated. The flooding caused power outages, city-wide damage, and meant that thousands of people were suddenly homeless while the entire country contributes to the rebuilding efforts. Well-known volunteer organizations mobilized their forces to get on the ground and begin providing relief for the displaced families.
Grass-roots volunteer organizations also sprang up, including Race2RecoverNYC, a “pop-up” philanthropic effort to find housing for displaced New Yorkers into the hotel rooms left vacant by the would-be New York Marathoners since the NYC marathon was cancelled.
Race2Recover is a WordPress site with forms where the displaced folks can register to get help finding a hotel room to stay in. The Race2RecoverNYC volunteers filled out the community sponsorship form on our website where community and not-for-profit organizations can request sponsorship, from sponsoring a local meetup, to free hosting for worthy causes like this one. We’re honored for the opportunity to host their website and make a modest contribution to these efforts.
Jordan Rabidou and Conley Downing are the volunteers who are now balancing their day jobs while they also contribute to the relief effort, helping to find homes for the people in their database. Their weekend relief effort is becoming an important part of their lives as they dig in as New Yorkers helping New Yorkers. As Conley writes on the Race2Recover website, “clean up after Hurricane Sandy is a Marathon, not a sprint.”
The response to Race2Recover was so great over the weekend, that the organizers have currently shut down the form registration for people looking for a place to stay so they can focus on finding lodging for the 350+ people who have already filled out the form and need a home short term until they can begin rebuilding their lives.
If you or someone you know is in the NYC area and was fortunate enough to have their housing remain intact, please consider registering on the site to house some of the displaced New Yorkers. The difference you can make will be life-changing. My childhood home was flooded 2 years ago and my parents lived with a neighbor during the coming months while they rebuilt their house. Without the outpouring of support and a place to live, my parents would have been homeless while their house was rebuilt.
Race2Recover is also accepting donations through their website that go directly to the relief efforts and will help provide hotel rooms for the displaced. If you’re able to give to the efforts, please consider contributing what you can.
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