Ever since my dad was a child, he and his five siblings have
been summering down the Jersey Shore in the town of Mantoloking, NJ. This is
where my relatives learned how to sail, made great friends, and got closer
together as a family. I have been lucky enough over my 19 years for this
tradition to continue into my life, as well. Every summer my 28 relatives of
aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents have lived on the same street in this
same town.
Hurricane Sandy has broken this wonderful tradition for me
for the first time in 19 years. My friends and family’s houses of the shore
have been hit with incredible destruction, prohibiting us from moving down for
another amazing summer. So many memories of my time down the shore sailing, at
the boardwalk, riding bikes, and more have been tainted by this natural
disaster. Hurricane Sandy has affected so many people close to me, as well as
others with their own forever-changed stories.
My family and I tried to drive down to Mantoloking on the
Thursday after Sandy’s wrath. We had to show identification to multiple
policemen and members of the National Guard, until we were stopped about a mile
away from our house. We grabbed our mops and garbage bags and walked to our
house together to start cleaning up. Throughout the day we helped neighbors
move furniture and rugs, as well as find helpers of our own walk through our
front door.
There is so much the American Red Cross is doing to help
support the victims of Hurricane Sandy. My family, as well as many, many others
out there, truly appreciate any help we can get. We're so fortunate to have only have this be our summer home, but so many others have not even seen their home in three weeks. They lost everything.There’s still time to help, so
please consider donating today!
#COMM30Sandy is an online class project for the
Media & Society class at Lehigh University, taught by professor Jeremy
Littau. You can donate to our campaign at this link, and for more infomation
you can email Prof. Littau at jeremy.littau(at)lehigh.edu
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