Help Ralph & Shari Fund
Hurricane Sandy hit New York City hard. My dear
friends Ralph and Shari were hit especially hard. They lived in a basement
apartment in Seagate, a beach community near Coney Island, mostly to be close
to Ralph's father who passed away earlier this year. Down steep steps their
apartment took on water during Irene, leading them to think staying to sandbag,
run pumps, and deter the looters that stuck after Irene, might prevent more
loss - a crucial mistake.
When the storm surge came, water rose above the
sandbags so when they broke water came pouring in at a dangerous and alarming
rate. The entire apartment filled from floor to ceiling with seawater in less
then 5 minutes. They were able to rescue one of their two cats before the water
rose above their faces, the other cowered on the bed, frozen in fear.
They eventually found her body in the very same spot.
Wet, scared, and grieving, without shoes or dry
clothes they huddled on the third floor of a neighbor's house. Eventually their
landlord rescued them and has put them up since. When
the apartment was pumped out, and they came back to sift through the remainder
of their belongings, they found looters had gotten there first, doing more
damage to both apartment and car.
Shari is a full time honors student, and Ralph works for Home Depot. Like so many they live paycheck to paycheck, and now they need everything. Ralph and Shari are two of the most generous and helpful people I have ever met. Please consider helping them, big donations help us reach out goal, but anything shows you care.