Getting Ready for Thanksgiving After Sandy

As many of you know Hurricane Sandy left much destruction and emotional turmoil in New Jersey.  Three weeks after this super storm drove floodwaters across my beloved state’s coastline; officials are still trying to figure out of what to do with the debris accumulating on roadsides as residents try to get their lives back to normal. Everyone is pitching in to do their part to help others less fortunate than themselves; from cleanup to donations but the work doesn’t show signs of ending.  It will be a long time before the ‘Garden State’ is back on its feet. 

We're trying to do the cleanup in as environmentally responsible manner as possible but the sheer volume of material to be disposed of is overwhelming.  New Jersey's system of landfills and incinerators does not have the capacity to handle all the debris. Much of it will shipped west by rail and truck to places like Ohio and Pennsylvania that already take a good proportion of New Jersey's waste. So if you see big trucks of waste jamming your roadways, have a little patience. The drivers are doing the best they can.

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This Thanksgiving will be humbling as tree limbs and sand dunes still cover many neighborhood yards and Red Cross continues to provide meals, shelter and comfort to families across the state. New Jersey food banks are struggling to feed the large numbers of homeless families whose lives have been turned upside down because of the super-storm. If you can help out the Community Food Bank of NJ this holiday season, here is how. Donate a turkey to a storm victim family today so they too can have the Thanksgiving they so truly deserve.

If you would like to help, please donate any household supplies and clothing by visiting www.redcross.org, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your help allows the American Red Cross to be there for victims of disaster, whenever or wherever help is needed. After all, disaster can strike at any time, but as the Red Cross and the American people continue to show, so can hope.

It feels good to be blogging again and I thank all of you for your prayers for everyone on the East Coast that had to deal with Hurricane Sandy.  God bless you.

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