Andrea & Anthony… Rebuild Project…

It is Thanksgiving Day and today I am grateful for the way that our community has pulled together in the aftermath of Sandy… It is in this spirit of gratitude that I am asking for us to pull together to help Andrea Tufano Panariello and Anthony Panariello and their 4 children (Antonio, Andrew, Aaron, and Angelina).

The Panariello Family lost the first floor of their home in the Super-storm due to flooding… All of the necessities and comforts of home gone in a few short hours. Although the experience was devastating, I did not once hear Andrea complain about material items that she lost. She spoke of concern for her children’s things and the comforts that they have had to part with. She spoke of her gratitude for the day that volunteers from her church came to help them rip apart the bottom floor of their home and pack up what was salvageable. Andrea spoke of the gratitude that she had that her family was safe and they the 6 of them could stay at her parent’s home. When I went to visit her there her son Aaron was so excited to show me the 1 room where all 6 of them are “playing sleep over.” Her son Andrew spoke of the fact that he wished all of his school books were washed away. Alas, mom had put them in the trunk of the car so she could continue to home school her children. Although we had some laughs on that visit, it was clear that this was going to be a hard road and that it would come with struggles. However, we did not speak of that. Andrea spoke of gratitude and how her heart went out to others. She told me how proud she was of her husband Anthony. His home had been tended to by his family and a group of volunteers and now he was out doing the same for other families. In the days after the storm, Anthony worked tirelessly lending himself to other families who had suffered the same fate as his family.

I was unsure how I could help but Cindy Teitjen Metz contacted me thought FaceBook and asked how she could help and if she knew where I could send money. She suggested we ask friends to send donations to the Panariello Family. I was touched that someone who had not had a lot of contact with Andrea in so long was so willing to reach out to help. There were other friends who wrote of concern for the Jersey Shore, for those of us living here, and for Andrea and her family. All of who indicated that they would like to help. I think that this outreach is a touching tribute to how special Andrea, her husband Anthony, and their children are. With that being said, I am asking you to donate to help these special people to be able to rebuild. Let’s pitch in to make it a little easier for Andrea & Anthony to be able to replace some for the necessities and comforts for themselves and their children.  I know they would be the first to do the same….