Port Of Baltimore Community Sends Donations To Those Affected By Sandy
TOWSON, Md. (WJZ) -- They've hauled supplies to the hardest hit areas and now members of the Port of Baltimore community are uniting for victims of Superstorm Sandy.
Tim Williams has more.
It's been more than a month since Superstorm Sandy pummeled the East Coast. Still, relief efforts from around the country continue. This one---from Dundalk and Towson---is en route to New York.
"You know, this is very small if you get a household item but it's new and it's just the thought that someone far away is thinking about you," said Jennifer Diamond, Hands Across the Americas.
At the Towson United Methodist Church, members of the Baltimore Port Alliance and friends of the port community are filling and sending a truck to Staten Island. New, daily household items are the stock of choice.
"They don't even need furniture yet because there are no houses so there is still a lot of need up there," said Linda Bryan, Ports America Chesapeake.
"It's very inspirational to see how American people are so generous," Diamond said.
It's a generosity not universally shared in hearings held by the federal government.
"Maryland woke up in the Lower Shore to this headline: `US Denies Aid To Maryland Storm Victims,'" said Senator Barbara Mikulski.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is covering repairs to public areas on the Eastern Shore but says the storm did not cause enough damage to justify assistance to individuals who lost homes or businesses. It's more reason donation efforts like this are crucial and timely.
"A lot of times, it's easy to get consumed by what we need, what we want and the next great toy. This helps us not to focus internally but on others around us," said volunteer Ray Almsteadt.
Items from the relief effort are expected to reach New York on Monday.
