From All Hands Volunteers:

Volunteer Signup

“When Hurricane Sandy swept up the Northeast coast on October 29, it wiped out hundreds of homes and wrecked entire neighborhoods. All Hands arrived quickly in this densely populated area, moving from community to community to assess where we could help most effectively.

Those who were able began clearing debris from their homes and businesses, but the challenges continue to be daunting, with local response efforts severely impacted by gas shortages, power outages and dropping temperatures.

There is great need in the affected communities, and they are overwhelmed by the amount of destruction and necessary rebuilding to recover. There are a vast number of volunteers who have stepped forward from the region to help and we are on the ground to start coordinating them for service in Staten Island and Rockaway. Because of damaged infrastructure and the number of displaced families, there is no capacity to house volunteers, so we are reaching out to volunteers in the local area who have transportation to and from the project sites at this time. We are also currently providing agency coordination support in New Jersey and Rhode Island.

Our greatest need, in order to swiftly and effectively empower volunteers to serve, is cash. This money will go toward purchasing tools, fuel, housing, transportation and coordination efforts. We have experienced team leaders and are leveraging their expertise. While we don’t have immediate spots for volunteers coming from outside the affected area, we will let you know should that change. To sign up, especially if you are local, please click here.

How else can you help?

To put it plainly, deploying volunteers effectively takes money. If you can’t join us on the ground, you can still make a real difference in one of the following ways:

o Donate to the Hurricane Sandy Response Fund

o Organize a fundraising event

o Set up a custom fundraising page, then send your family and friends your personal endorsement of All Hands along with your fundraising page url

o Text RESPOND to 80088 to contribute $10 (AT&T and Verizon only at this time)

We are in place and in action. Please support us today.

-All Hand Volunteers”