Being a resident on the East Coast of the United States, particularly in New Jersey, many people along with me have been dealing with the disastrous consequences of Hurricane Sandy. I was fortunate enough not to have had to deal with any major damage as a result of this storm, but many, many people were not as fortunate as I was. Of course I had seen the videos and pictures of the destruction on the news, but I never really realized how bad this hurricane was until Operation Blessing.
Operation Blessing is a volunteer organization run out of the Lighthouse Alliance Church in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey. I was given the opportunity to volunteer with this organization through Water Watch here at Stockton. I had a strong interest in helping directly with Sandy victims in a way other than donating needed items, and this was the perfect opportunity. I have gone several times now with students from Stockton to volunteer with Operation Blessing, and it has been the most rewarding experience I have ever had.
In the times I have volunteered, I have gone to three homes in the Little Egg Harbor area to work. Going to houses means that the volunteers will be doing laborious work because basically, the entire house needs to be gutted and everything wet needs to be thrown out. That includes refrigerators, doors, walls, food, ovens, tables, chairs, fences, etc. The list goes on and on, but I think it would be easiest to explain it as imagining everything you own being thrown out onto your front lawn for trash and all of the walls of your house being torn down. Until I went and actually saw for myself and participated in helping to clean up the damage, I had no idea how serious this hurricane had been.
The most amazing thing about volunteering is seeing how these homeowners, who have lost everything and are watching us tear down and throw out their lives, still manage to be in good spirits and are so thankful that we are there to help them. Every homeowner I have met will laugh and joke around with us despite the devastation that has brought us all together. I am very happy I was able to have this opportunity through Operation Blessing and help out the victims of Hurricane Sandy.