30deeds

For years, I have wanted to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity.  On three separate occasions, I signed up only to have the project cancelled due to inclement weather.  I finally got my opportunity to help last week in Little Ferry, NJ.  Little Ferry was one of the hardest hit towns in North Jersey during hurricane Sandy.  Speaking with one resident, he stated “I was outside with my wife watching the storm and looked to my left to see a 3 foot wave barreling down the road.  At the storm’s peak, there was 9 feet of water in the middle of the street.  When the water receded, there were fish scattered across my lawn”.

Habitat for Humanity of Bergen County stepped in to help restore approximately 80 homes in Little Ferry.  Some projects are big rebuilds and some are smaller restorations.  When I arrived, I was put to work by the on site supervisor, Mike.  I started in one home priming the walls.  After a while, I moved onto another home in the neighborhood to help sheet rock and frame walls on the first floor.  The first floor, like others in the area, had to be completely gutted.  New walls, floors, bathrooms..everything.  Even though I am no where near “handy” I was able to complete the task at hand with help from the site supervisor.  After 7 hours or so of work, I headed back home, more grateful than ever.  It was again, yet another stark reminder of how truly lucky I am and that every day with food and shelter is a blessing.

After the first deed, I still had the desire to help hurricane Sandy victims.  I discovered that the company I work for(which shall remain nameless), would match any gift up to $1,000 at a 2:1 ratio.  For example, if I donate $100, they would donate $200, bringing the total donation to $300.  I made a donation and helped spread the word about the matching program to other colleagues resulting in a number of additional donations.  This plays into the underlying theme of the 30deeds project; making it bigger than myself and motivating others to pay it forward.

Trunk full of Donations

As most of you know, the New Jersey shore was hit hard by hurricane Sandy.  I watched and listened to the news coverage all week and felt helpless.  On Sunday, November 3rd, I decided to do something about it.  I gathered up clothes, blankets, canned goods, water, and headed down to Belmar to donate.

When I arrived in Belmar, I was floored by the amount of donations and the number of people volunteering.  Volunteers came from all over NJ and surrounding states with donations.  A man and his daughter arrived with an entire Uhaul truck filled with various supplies.  Two women arrived with 2 full school buses packed floor to ceiling with toys, blankets and other linens.  It made my trunk full of donations seem quite feeble.  All day long, car after car, truck after truck, the donations kept rolling in.  I spent a majority of my time helping unload the vehicles and sorting the donations.

It was an amazing, touching, and humbling experience.  It is truly incredible what society can accomplish in a time of need.  It was a great way to start my my quest to change the world, one deed at a time.