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'Oh Sandy' Anthology Uses Humor to Examine Seriousness of Historic Storm

A Matawan man with close ties to Union Beach was one of several Sandy survivors to be published in the collection titled "Oh Sandy: An Anthology of Humorous Stories for a Serious Cause."

Hurricane Sandy was no laughing matter for those people displaced from their flooded homes, for those throwing out hundreds of dollars worth of food after losing power or for those who lost their homes entirely.   However, they say laughter is the best medicine. "When you are gutting people's houses, you either start laughing or start crying and don't stop," said James Butler, a former Union Beach resident who continues to coach youth soccer there. "When you are dealing with tragedy there is at first shock and then you kind of move on to the gallows of humor." Each day after the storm, Butler, now a Matawan resident, visited Union Beach to help his parents, his childhood friends and his soccer players' families clean up and rebuild.  He …

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Hurricane Sandy

"I Only:" It Means A Lot More Than You Think

What you think isn't much means the world to those struggling in the wake of Sandy

While friends and family at the Jersey Shore were still reeling from the impact of Hurricane Sandy, they sprang into action. Volunteers from across the nation started collecting items to help people devastated by the storm. People without homes. People they'd never even met. Often, they heard the phrase, "I only." But as Debbie Nelson, one of those who rallied friends and communities to help those of us here will tell you, "Every 'I only' is like a penny: put a bunch of them together and they add up." *** Debbie Nelson watched the reports about Hurricane Sandy with concern. The mother from Dallas had one son living in the Belford section of Middletown, and the grandfather of her older children lived in Barnegat. She had been struggling …

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Hurricane Sandy

Volunteers - Local and Nationwide - Rally To Aid Sandy's Victims

People from Maine to Hawaii and all points in between join with local volunteers to restore the shore.

Even before Sandy’s first gusts reached our shores, volunteers from the entire United States were on their way to southern Ocean County and all East Coast areas soon to be devastated. Many of them are still here or have rotated out to be replaced by others from their organizations. Members of the Fraternal Order of Police had arrived from as far away as Missouri and Louisiana at the Long Beach Township Municipal Complex. They set up a kitchen and for the next two weeks as the building served as the command center for LBI’s Emergency Management Operations and the National Guard, they fed the police, first responders, National Guard and EOC personnel. As the storm passed, more FOP members fanned out with cleaning supplies, equipment and …

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Big Storms Help Make Barnegat's First Aid Squad Busier Than Ever

First Aid Squad 11 answers record breaking number of calls within the past 6 months, and expects more

Barnegat's First Aid Squad 11 is busier than ever. The squad has made a record number of emergency house calls this year and last. With a total of 1,300 calls last year, the squad plans to exceed or have more calls this year. The squad has assisted in storm coverage, including Atlantic County's most recent storm evacuation, helping to bring residents to air conditioned facilities. The 40 volunteers that make up the First Aid Squad hope to gain 20 more members before the end of the year, in order to cover all the emergencies they foresee, said the squad's president, James Goldstein. From January 1, 2012 to June 1, 2012 the squad answered 568 emergency calls.   The squad looks for locals to give their time or even a donation, and anything …

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Volunteerism Encouraged During 'Season of Service'

Christie Administration signs up to volunteer, and is urging residents to do so, too

It’s a season of service. That’s what the governor’s office is hoping the coming weeks will be remembered as. In addition to celebrating the winter holidays, Gov. Chris Christie is urging residents to lend a hand to volunteer organizations and help serve their communities. The "season" was officially announced by Governor and First Lady Christie on last week on the eve of Thanksgiving. The idea, according to the governor’s office, was inspired by 8-year-old Aidan McManus of Burlington Township. Aidan volunteers every Wednesday at the Ladle of Love soup kitchen at St. Mary's Episcopal Church, and for his efforts were recognized by First Lady Pat Christie as a New Jersey Hero. The Christies pitched in to help cook Thanksgiving meals last …

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Kudos

VIDEO: Volunteers Deliver 1,000 Meals to Local Seniors

Event is based at Epiphany Roman Catholic Church

An annual event, more than 400 volunteers came out Thanksgiving morning to deliver 1,000 meals to homebound seniors in numerous Ocean County towns.

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MORRIS FLORY

7:44 pm on Friday, November 25, 2011

Hey Patch, please consider an article for the holidays on how people can volunteer for local communities. Thanks!   more ›

Girl Scout Pitches in To Help Needy Pets

St. Bernard's Food for Pets, an offshoot of St. Mary's food pantry, helps families fill bowls

Needy pets in southern Ocean County are getting a leg up thanks to a group of volunteers at St. Mary's Catholic Church, including a Girl Scout who's putting her love of animals to good use. Kimberly Pepenella, a 15-year-old Barnegat High School 10th grader, had been on the lookout for the perfect project for her Girl Scout Gold Award. The community service award, which calls on girls to put together and execute a major community service effort, is the highest honor a scout can earn. Pepenella is a pet lover, and she said a lot of her previous work had focused on animals. All summer, she’d searched and considered possible projects, but hadn’t come across anything quite right. Then she learned about St. Bernard’s Food for Pets. The pet food …

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PHOTOS: Beautifying the Bay, a Bag at a Time

Barnegat volunteers help out in first-annual Barnegat Bay Blitz

About a dozen volunteers and Department of Environmental Protection staffers donned rain gear and gathered at the municipal dock Wednesday morning to kick off the inaugural Barnegat Bay Blitz, a watershed-wide cleanup effort. All over the region, those in communities whose waters drain to the bay are turning out to pick up trash that could otherwise end up in waterways. Volunteers and team captains will keep track of the kind of trash collected, making the cleaup a valuable data-gathering exercise. Joseph T. Donahue Elementary students and their families will also join in the effort tomorrow; rain and high winds kept the kids indoors today. Find out more about the Blitz on the DEP's website.

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Volunteers Gear Up for Barnegat Bay Blitz

All are welcome to participate in cleanup at municipal dock Wednesday at 9 a.m. and again at 1 p.m.

The first annual Barnegat Bay Blitz is set for tomorrow, and Barnegat volunteers are getting ready to join others regionwide in a watershed cleanup that spans multiple counties. The state Department of Environmental Protection is organizing the first-ever event, recruiting businesses, schools, volunteer groups, community organizations and others pitch in and pick up trash at locations on the bayfront and along streams within the bay watershed, which stretches from Little Egg Harbor north into Howell and Freehold Townships. NJDEP staffers are working as team captains to mobilize volunteers within watershed communities. Barnegat captain Jaime Murray said the state wants to involve as many people as possible in the inaugural cleanup day. "…

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