Michele Catalano of East Meadow is a self-proclaimed Internet girl.
She even met one of her closet friends, Leah Reich of Oakland, Ca.
through Twitter. It was only fitting that when she kick-started a
post-Sandy relief effort that it was online and with that very same
friend.
Catalano and Reich created their website, Sacks for Sandy,
and in just one week have collected more than 700 toys for children
affected by Sandy. There has also been a social media movement
surrounding the effort.
Inspired by the Occupy Sandy Registry,
the two started their mission by creating a wish list of on Amazon.com
and then spread the word on their personal Facebook and Twitter
accounts. It probably helped their cause that Catalano has nearly 1
million Twitter followers.
For more stories like this or to upload information about a similar effort, follow our Giving and Volunteering groups.
"We put it up and then people started responding, sharing our statuses and donating," Catalano said.
The
gifts will be donated to firehouses in Lindenhurst, Massapequa, Lido
Beach, Island Park and East Rockaway for distribution. The two women
hope to collect 1,000 gifts by Friday when the collection drive ends.
Reich said that watching the coverage of a storm that affected her close friend made her want to give back.
"You
just feel helpless," she told Patch via Skype. "People lost basic
things, but the kids still love the holidays. They should still have
Christmas and Hanukkah after all the devastation."
Catalano, who
was without electricity for 13 days herself, agreed that normalcy is
important for those who remain displaced or are in the rebuilding
process.
Catalano said that she came to the realization that
people do care about one another and that the Internet is in fact a
powerful tool.
"If we don't collect 1,000 gifts, we still got an
overwhelming amount from strangers over the Internet," she said. "And it
proves that social media can be used to do good because you are able to
reach so many people. I have met some of my closest friends online."
But in the end, it is all about the children.
"They
went through a devastating thing and have been traumatized," Catalano
said. "We just want to bring smiles to these kids faces."
Want to help? Donate a gift to Sacks for Sandy here.
Story by Danielle De Souza
MORE TOP NEWS
Sacks for Sandy Spreads Holiday Cheer to Kids
Michele Catalano of East Meadow and Leah Reich of California joined efforts from across the country to children affected by the storm.
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Michael Ganci (Editor) May 20, 2013 at 12:37 am
We just posted. I was at the scene. Hope this helps! MG…Read More http://merrick.patch.com/groups/breaking-news/p/woman-struck-by-train-at-merrick-lirr-station
Zach T May 17, 2013 at 07:20 pm
The School board is a bunch of morons if they want to remove this designation! There were 0 problems…Read More like this when Malucci was in office, this new superintendent is a waste of space, money, and cares more about his own paycheck then our kids! Between school security, and now this, I motion that we get rid of that skell!
Dr. Kim Lurie May 16, 2013 at 12:54 pm
Bless you, Anthony. And though I know ultimately the "Judge" will have to be held…Read More accountable by a higher authority...those of us who do this work, have not forgotten nor will we allow the system to forget what her role in this travesity was.
Anthony Merlo May 16, 2013 at 10:24 am
Thank you for this wonderful article on a good man pushed to the brink. I appriciate the fact this…Read More came form the heart and did not hold back. As Sacristan at Cure of Ars, I had the pleasure of working with Dr. Rich (as I called him) for some time. He was a man of faith and a pleasure to see. Always with a smile and kind word, you would never know what was going on the way he acted. This was a wonderful and insightful article. It is heartbreaking to think that where there was once love between 2 people, things got to the point where one persons life was destroyed by those who could and did for no apparent reason other than having the ability to do so. God will have mercy on Dr. Rich and the ex-wife and "Judge" should pray for the same given their actions.