While the Stern community was unable to avoid Sandy’s wrath, losing power and water for nearly a week and forcing students to seek refuge elsewhere, those just a few further blocks downtown were left in a drastically worse situation. Many, including elderly individuals and families with young children, were unable to leave their apartment buildings for days, stuck without water, food, light or means of evacuation. Reaching out to help, the Stern and YC student bodies banded together to do what they could, bringing food, water, flashlights, batteries, and more downtown on Thursday, November 1st. Spear-headed by Torah Activities Council President, Margot Reinstein, a group of 70 Stern and YC students headed downtown to provide assistance. The experience was deeply impactful—not just for those helped, but for the student helpers as well. Bellow are some first-hand student accounts of the experience, detailing the shocking scene volunteers witnessed; one more reason this historic storm won’t soon be forgotten.
Margot Reinstein, SCW 13’
We knew that people were in need. We knew that waiting for another organization to tell us what to do would get us nowhere. And then we knew that we just needed to go down there and do it ourselves.
We bought hundreds of bottles of water, granola bars and bananas. We also bought hundreds of batteries and flashlights.
As we walked into the building, it was dark. We pulled out our flashlights that we had brought intending to give to them. We needed them to make our way up the 16 flights of stairs to get to the top floor. They didn’t have running water. Because of the lack of heat, it was so cold. Children were crying and honestly, I was scared myself.
Some places had water but just needed some emotional support. The elderly in higher apartments were literally just stuck there! Where were their families? Where was the rest of the world to help them out? I didn’t know. But I know we made a huge difference.
Rebecca Peyser, SCW 14’
Some of these people were really running out of water and batteries, especially the elderly who could not walk down the flights of stairs, and it’s scary to think that they may not have gotten these supplies had we not come. There are many more apartment buildings filled with people in need, and I know we barely made a dent in how much needs to be done, but I hope that everyone who is able to goes and helps just a few more people, because I think that’s the only way to reach everyone. President Joel’s story about the starfish, that while you can’t save all the starfish, if you save just one it was still worthwhile because “it mattered to that one” really resonates with me right now: while we couldn’t reach even a fraction of all the people in need of help, we made all the difference to those who we did reach.
Michelle Haimowitz, SCW 13’
My group spent the few hours that we had traveling up and down a 20-story building looking for people who may need any of the supplies we had. When we got to the 20th floor, one woman answered the door when we knocked. It turned out to be a home health aid. She was taking care of a woman who lives on the 20th floor and she thanked us profusely for the few bottles of water and snacks that we were able to give her. I asked her if she had any drinking water besides for the bottles that we were giving her and she said that she did not since they almost finished the two other bottles that volunteers brought her the other day.
It is scary to meet someone who is truly relying on the few things that volunteers are able to bring them. On the one hand, I felt a huge sense of accomplishment that we were able to reach out to a few of those people in that neighborhood; however, after a bit of time spent downtown, it became quite evident to me that there were many more people who were not receiving the help they needed.
I left the lower east side with an immense feeling of both helpfulness and helplessness. Many of the people we met just wanted electricity, a hot shower, or hot food, all of which we could not provide for them. However, I believe those feelings drove me, and those around me, to strive to do more, even when more didn’t not seem possible.
Danny Goldberg, YC 13’
To those we helped, it really wasn’t just a bottle of water, but so much more. We went into a building that lost its power. The stairwells and hallways were pitch black. Even with a flashlight, it was hard to see the next step in front of you. When we knocked on the doors to offer help, it was so amazing to see the faces of the occupants as they opened the door. You could literally not just see, but feel their joy. I have never once seen appreciation for a banana that way. But more importantly, the fact that people came by was just so exciting for them, especially the people on the upper floors like 19 and 20. People were so eager to share their stories. We had just met these people, but already it felt like we had known each other a while, and they were eager to open up. The crazy thing was that despite everything that these people had gone through, their focus was never really on themselves. Sure, they took a bottle of water or a banana, but they always were telling us of this couple who needed something, or an elderly woman who just needed someone to check up on her. Sometimes they even declined food or water because they thought, despite what they are lacking, that other people needed it more.
Zahava Rothschild, SCW 13’
It’s dark, it’s scary, and it’s empty, but behind many closed apartment doors are lonely individuals without water, flashlights or the capability to connect to the outside community. As we knocked on doors, not knowing what lay behind, we came to recognize that the simple knock was enough to demonstrate that people cared and thought about those closest to the tragedy. They need emotional support and physical materials. Lines extended for blocks outside of salvation-army booths and shelters. People were seen climbing into dumpsters to recover food that had been disposed of when refrigerators turned off. As the Jewish community, we believe in sacrificing for the sake of tzedakah, and with this perspective we must make our every effort to give all of the aid that is in our capacity to contribute.