Surviving Sandy grain by grain….

Here is Rich & Tara's Story

On October 28th Rich, and his wife Tara and their two children, ages five years and three months old, were evacuated from their home. They quickly packed a few personal items which would fit into their car along with their three beloved pets, and headed northeast to take shelter from the super storm.  Tara's parents who live in a small town in Northern New Jersey, called West Milford, were kind enough to offer them temporary housing during the storm. During the storm West Milford experienced high winds and power outages. Tara’s parents along with Rich and Tara, their children and pets spent the next two days with no electricity. More importantly they had no idea what was happening to their house on the shore, but had the comfort and security of loved ones.  Six days later, after spending a grueling number of hours in New York traffic, Rich and Tara returned home to Keansburg to survey the damage.  

Keansburg was hit hard. Rich and Tara drove around in disbelief shocked at how much damage had been done to the city and especially to their own neighborhood. 

When they finally made it home they were faced with some good news, their house was still standing, but they also face some very serious issues. There was little water damage inside the house. sadly they lost all their refrigerated and frozen food because of the electricity outage. The garage however was a different matter.

Everything in the garage had been soaked for hours in 4 feet of putrid, contaminated water.  This was a tragic loss because Rich and Tara were in the process of moving! Therefore, most of their belongings in the house were boxed and stored in the garage ready for moving day. They lost so much, this is where they took the hardest hit from the storm. 

Seven days later, after 13 days away from their home they were finally allowed to return and have started to rebuild their lives.  The city still has mandatory curfews for all residences, but water and sewer and electricity are in tact. They now face many anxieties. Tara is a school teacher. But so many children are not returning to the area and many of the teaching jobs are on the line.  Also, the fact that they were in the middle of buying a new house has its own set of new issues and presents them with many problems.

Therefore I am asking you to join me to lend them a hand. Please join me in making a small donation towards helping them replace their many lost items. This would give them a fresh start in their new house when they move. A small donation of 25.00 would be a wonderful Thanksgiving gesture or Christmas gift as they rebuild their lives. While many people suffered enormous losses, it would be a personal way you can help alleviate the anxiety and suffering of one family who you have a personal connection with.

Imagine the good we can all do in some small way, and imagine what would happen on the East coast if everyone with family and, or friends did some small act of kindness to show their love and support. I am sure Rich and Tara will use our gift wisely and probably do their part to help someone who might have a greater need then themselves!

Thank you for prayerfully considering my request

Love Bobbi