Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort

Imagine that you woke up this morning, and everything you owned was gone.

Your clothing was gone, all of it, except for what you were wearing.

All your food was spoiled and rotting.

All of your furniture was destroyed, unusable, and unsalvageable.

All of those little things you cherished through the years, photos, paintings, memorabilia, all gone.

All of your children’s toys, schoolbooks, games, all gone.

There was no heat, power, or water in your home, if you had a home left that is.

Most of your neighbors were in the same situation and unable to assist you.

What do you do? Who do you turn to? Where is the government and why are they not knocking on your door to help you?

Because there are too many in need, all at the same time.

And that is why we are here. We are the volunteers that are doing the dirty work, raising the necessary funds, making the calls, knocking on the doors, gutting the homes, distributing the supplies needed, enrolling the masses, and hopefully aiding the re-building of the decimated east coast, a chore that may take years to complete.

My name is David Osterczy and for the past 7 weeks I have been leading teams of men and women who have repeatedly put themselves in harms way, with little equipment and even less supplies, to assist in the cleanup of the devastation after Hurricane Sandy decimated the East Coast.
On Saturday, 11/24/2012 we entered a home in Staten Island, NY who's entire basement was literally buried under raw sewage.
Our team gutted, cleaned, and removed everything, from the basement up the the roof of the first floor. We had no hazmat suits, no respirators, only boots, masks, goggles which kept fogging up, and all the tools we had purchased with donations from around New York.
We should not have been there, but we were, and will be again I am sure in different homes. And we MUST be better prepared.
I have witnessed in these weeks a level of devastation that I have only seen on television in war-torn areas of the world. No matter what you have seen, it is far worse on the ground, and we need your help!
We, a team of men and women from several different organizations, MDI, Mutomo, School boards, and volunteers of every age, race, creed and color have banded together "until the job is complete."
We need training, professional contractor assistance, more volunteers, much more equipment and supplies, and a continued attitude of "service to mankind" that has kept us, and will continue to keep us in the trenches, long after FEMA and everyone else has left for other things.
I am taking it upon myself to raise $100,000.00 to assist us in the continued effort to help as many people who HAVE LOST EVERYTHING get back some dignity, warmth, and safety that they desperately need. We also have discussed starting a non-profit endowment to give funds to those who are not receiving proper insurance settlements and need to re-build their homes and lives after all the cleanup is complete.
Please follow me on Facebook for updates, photos, videos, and to communicate with me as I'm unsure how this site works as yet.
I thank you all in advance for any assistance, supplies, or money that you can donate to this important and necessary work.

Sincerely,

David Osterczy 11/27/2012