Hurricane Relief Assistance

I was going to post a light-hearted post about what travel items helped me through the hurricane, but my heart wasn’t really in it to finish.  I might finish, but I’m pretty heart-sick right now.

I was catching up on the blogs I read, and New Girl in the Sky posted some great ways you can help.

From her:

If there is one thing I know about the miles and points community, it is that we are a group of people who know how to band together and make a difference.  If you have a mileage run to the northeast USA or one of several Caribbean islands that were hit hardest, consider using your time on the ground to volunteer and help rebuild communities.  If that’s not possible, you can still contribute financially to help provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected by Hurricane Sandy.

My family and closest friends are all in New York.  Everyone is okay, and I am grateful.  Some don’t have a home right now.  And a lot of the places I have strong memories about are no longer there.  There was a random shot of the shore where I recognized a destroyed shop where I spent way too long debating whether or not to buy a dress two years ago.  It’s been so weird to see different memories displayed on the screen, knowing those places are gone.  I can’t even begin to imagine how it is for people currently there.  My heart really, truly goes out to Breezy.

Saturday night, I was staying at a Westin.  I ordered room service.  Grumbled a little at how long it took.  Then sat in a extremely comfortable bed, eating my dinner, and watched a movie.

The movie I watched was Castaway.  There’s a scene near the end where the main character’s coworkers throw a welcome back party for him.  After years of having to hunt fish to survive, there’s a spread of food out for him.  There’s a particularly poignant moment where he stares at a plate of sushi, and his expression is disbelief that it’s that easy to get food now.

My mind keeps going back to that scene.  I went out to a restaurant for a quick bite last night and it was that easy for me to get food.  It is not so easy for those in New York and New Jersey right now.  This is reminding me to appreciate things.  But also reminding me that they need our help.

I apologize for the rambling.  There are people without heat, electricity, and homes whose hometowns will never be the same, even if they rebuild.  Please consider helping.

About Jeanne Marie Hoffman

Former bartender, still a geek. One equal part each cookies, liberty, football, music, travel, libations. Stir vigorously. +Jeanne Marie Hoffman Jeanne on Twitter

Check Also

a city skyline with lights reflecting on water

Reminder: DC-Area Meetup is October 10th!

Just a reminder that the next DC-meetup is coming up!  We (Pizzainmotion and I) look …

One comment

  1. Nice post. It is heart-breaking to see the devastation in NY and NJ. And it is not that widely reported… dozens of people killed, hundreds and thousands without homes. We should all be doing what we can to help out

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.