How you can help superstorm and nor’easter victims

Michelle Basch, wtop.com

WASHINGTON – First a hurricane, now a nor’easter.

Parts of New York and New Jersey are dealing with a double weather whammy, and people are asking WTOP how they can help.

Here’s a list of some of the grassroots efforts being organized in the area:

• Through Thursday, Nov. 8, St. Andrew Apostle Catholic Church at 11600 Kemp Mill Rd. in Silver Spring is accepting donations of items, such as non- perishable food, toiletries and heavy-duty trash bags. On Friday, the items will be loaded on a truck bound for New Jersey. Find more information at the St. Andrew Apostle Church Hurricane Relief Fund page.
• Help raise money for a Staten Island charity from 7 to 10 p.m., Sat. Nov. 10 at Sign of the Whale, 1825 M Street NW, Washington, D.C. Tickets are $5, and you get $3 food and drink specials. Enter a raffle to win prizes like Wizards tickets and a $50 bar tab. There will also be a silent auction featuring sports memorabilia like baseballs signed by Bryce Harper, Jayson Werth, and Mark Reynolds. All proceeds go to the Stephen Siller Hurricane Sandy Relief Fund. For more information, click here.
• Twelve-year-old Abbi Audas and her 9-year-old brother Andrew have organized a collection drive called “Keep Them Cozy.” They and their parents are collecting new or used coats, gloves, scarves, hats, socks and blankets at their home at 5647 Old Chester Rd. in Bethesda. The donations will be driven to New York and New Jersey over Thanksgiving weekend.

  Jim Audas, the children’s father, sent WTOP an email about the efforts of Abbi, who attends Pyle Middle School, and Andrew, who attends Bradley Hills Elementary School. Audas says anyone with questions about the family’s effort can email him at russoaudas@verizon.net.

• The Mid-Atlantic Hiking Group is looking for members willing to help clean up state and national parks affected by Hurricane Sandy. Sign up for the group’s Sunday, Nov. 18 event at the Mid-Atlantic Hiking Group website.
• The National Fallen Firefighters Foundation in Emmitsburg, Md. is asking for donations of specific items to help firefighters and their families who lost their homes in the storm. Click on the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation’s website for more information.
• Battlefield High School, with support from the Battlefield Key Club, says it is teaming up with Tyler Elementary to collect supplies for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. On Saturday, a tractor trailer leavs Haymarket.

  Drop donations off at Battlefield High School‘s main office on Thursday or Friday. The school says items will be delivered to Tyler Elementary around 2:15 p.m. on Friday.

  Items that are needed include the following:

  • Diapers
  • Baby food
  • Formula
  • Bottled water
  • Canned food
  • Blankets
  • Coats
  • Scarves and mittens

National groups that help disaster victims also have ways for you to help:

• The Red Cross is soliciting donations. You can text REDCROSS to 90999 to give $10 to disaster relief efforts. You also can call the Red Cross at 1-800-RED-CROS (800-733-2767).
• The Salvation Army is collecting donations for hurricane victims. You can call the Salvation Army at 1-800-SAL-ARMY (725- 2769) or mail your donation to this address:

  The Salvation Army Disaster Relief
  Hurricane Sandy Relief
  PO BOX 1959
  Atlanta, GA 30301

  To text a $10 donation to the Salvation Army, text STORM to 80888 and confirm your donation with the word, “Yes.”

  The Salvation Army says a $10 donation can feed a person for one day, while $30 provides a box of food to a family of four or provides the family with a household cleanup kit of brooms, mops, buckets and other cleaning supplies.

  The group says $100 can provide snacks and drinks for 125 survivors and emergency personnel, while $250 can serve one hot meal to 100 people or keep a hydration station open for 24 hours.

If you know of other donation drives, let WTOP know by e-mailing webmail@wtop.com.

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(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)