By Berit Ollestad
The bad news: Morristown has been asked twice in two years to help other communities devastated by weather-related disasters.
The good news: Morristown keeps answering the calls with enthusiasm.
First, it was Tuscaloosa, Ala., pummeled last year by a category 5 tornado. Morristown residents quickly filled an 18-wheeler with disaster relief supplies.
Now, help is needed for Shore victims of Hurricane Sandy. With assistance from the Morristown fire department earlier this month, residents loaded a 24-foot truck with supplies destined for the Shore. The announcement went out to the community on a Wednesday and that following Sunday, the truck was headed to the Shore.
That went so well, another relief drive has been scheduled for this Saturday, Dec. 1, from 9 am to 5 pm at the firehouse on Speedwell Avenue.
And Morristown resident Rachel Petr will be a big part of this effort.
You may remember reading about Rachel in February.
The mother of three has spent the better part of this past year battling breast cancer. Happily, Rachel is in remission and has received a green light from her physician.
What this means is that Morristown has one of its most avid cheerleaders for charity back on board. Within days of Sandy unleashing her fury on the region, Rachel tapped friends and family to support the “one-woman relief effort” in her garage.
“I’m going to win and survive it and pay it forward,” she said when diagnosed in February.
Rachel seems determined to make good on her promise in a big way.
Throughout her battle with breast cancer, she has experienced much kindness and compassion. Sandy, she said, provided the “perfect opportunity to pay it forward; it was a no-brainer.”
Rachel said strangers from as far away as Colorado have sent her donations.
“I grew up going to the Shore with my family and my boys love the beach, and especially Point Pleasant. We can hardly wait to return when it is back better than ever,” Rachel said.
She set up her garage as a makeshift collection center for water, canned goods, clothing and cleaning supplies. Within two weeks of spreading the word via social media and word of mouth, Rachel’s garage was bursting at the seams.
The day before she was to deliver her bounty to the Shore, she was informed the intended receiving facility no longer had space. Rachel and an army of volunteers loaded their mini-vans, pick-ups and cars and made a caravan to the Morristown fire department, which was staging its own relief drive.
“God bless the fire department,” Rachel said. “They knew where to go, who to see and how to get all the donations to the people who needed them most.”
A partnership was forged. Rachel vowed to continue helping the fire department collect relief items until there is no longer a need.
The fire department has many more allies, too.
Fellow mom Sara O’Reilly from Morris Plains saw Sandy as an opportunity to teach her son and daughter the value of giving back to others in their time of need. Sara took her 4-year-old son R.J. and daughter Ella, 2, shopping for the items they were going to donate. They bought diapers, wipes and canned goods.
Morristown Councilwoman Alison Deeb also stopped by the firehouse earlier this month, and reiterated what so many were saying as they dropped off donations.
“It’s a wonderful thing what the town is doing for the people over at the Shore,” Alison said. “God knows we all hoarded canned goods and water before the storm. So, I brought over everything I had that I would’ve used in the event we would have been the ones affected. I count my blessings that all the trees that were down were only inconveniences and not on more people’s homes.”
Morristown resident Jean Grubbs, co-president of the Home School Association at the Alexander Hamilton School, said the relief effort “gives us a sense of empowerment and allows us to not feel so hopeless. It’s also a great opportunity to get our kids out of the bubble that they often live in. When they see and hear what’s going on in different parts of New Jersey and New York, suddenly it’s not the end of the world that they can’t play their Wii because they have no power.”
Like Rachel Petr, Morris Plains resident Todd Cieri quickly began reaching out to the community to organize a relief effort. “I spent summers at Seaside and have fond memories of the rides on the pier and eating waffle ice cream sandwiches,” he said. “I live a pretty easy life and I always do what I can to try and help others in need.”
According to Mike Geary, a Morristown firefighter and chief of the Morris Plains volunteer fire department, “landmarks that you were used to seeing down at the shore are completely gone. It’s far more shocking to see the devastation up close than what they are able to bring you on TV or in photos.”
Mike was asked to go to the Seaside Heights Fire Department to provide relief to other firefighters in the days after the storm.
Items donated earlier this month had been destined for Toms River. But space became an issue because so many donations had been received. Acting on a tip, Morristown firefighters took the relief truck into Seaside Heights and distributed the items at the local fire department.
Many roads were impassable and the truck’s arrival was greeted with cheers and tears from volunteers and emergency workers in Seaside Heights. Many of them shared stories of how they had lost everything to the superstorm. Yet they were grateful that no lives were lost, and they expressed determination to re-build their town and make it even better than before.
Many gave heart-felt thanks to Morristown residents for their generosity and compassion. Seaside Heights Fireman Ed Long made a personal plea:
“When all the hype has died down and it’s no longer front page news, please don’t let people forget about us,” he said. “We are going to need help for a long time. The job of re-building our town is monumental and it’s not going to be completed anytime soon.”.
Morristown firefighters made a commitment to Ed and the town of Seaside Heights that Morristown would not forget them. They promised to return with another relief truck before Christmas.
If you can come to the firehouse on Saturday, please bring any of the following items:
- Paper Products, plastic utensils, paper towels, paper plates
- Cleaning supplies, Lysol, Pine-sol, mops, sponges
- Personal toiletries, toothpaste, soap, toothbrushes, baby wipes
- Canned goods, soup, tuna, fish, pasta, peanut butter, granola bars
- Water, Gatorade, powered drinks, packaged tea
- New blankets & towels
For more information, please contact Firefighter Nick Prizzi at 973-476-2086.
