Catskill Relief efforts

The Catskills have now received a federal Major Disaster Area designation.

Boing Boing on 6th Avenue has volunteered to be a drop off center for all donations heading to Upstate New York.

Most needed is food, flashlights, batteries, diapers, food supplements for seniors, toothpaste, toothbrushes, baby wipes, blankets, sleeping bags,clothing for men, women and children...basically everything you have laying around, they can use.

BOING BOING is open 11-7 today and tomorrow. We will be closed Thursday for the holiday, although I might stay open just for donations if people support this drive.

Thank you and please forward to any interested parties.

Other NYC locations

Please find below an email we have drafted for mass distribution. We kindly ask that all of you distribute the below email widely to all of your contacts/networks here in NYC so we can get donations flowing into the collection sites!

We are still hoping to get a website online soon (tonight if at all possible) and will circulate the web address as soon as it is live.

We now have numerous collection site locations up and running (it took about 24 hours to get all this organized/confirmed) and we have had offers for transport which we will coordinate in the coming days as donations come in.

Presently, the single most important thing everyone can do to help is to publicize the donation collection centers to your NYC contacts/networks and get the donations flowing in so we can then fill the cars of everyone who has volunteered to transport donations upstate in the coming days (some volunteers have even offered to rent trucks if needed!).

The below email lists suggested items for donation based upon what we have heard is needed from various drop off centers upstate.

For all transport volunteers, we will be in touch withing the next 24 hours to coordinate pick up at collection centers (we have to get the word out far and wide and get donations flowing in right away so you will all have supplies to take up with you!).

For all collection center volunteers, we will check in with you via email daily after 7:00 p.m. each evening to see if you have enough donations for transport (at least a carload), but feel free to email anytime.

Please note that we are NOT accepting any monetary donations--only donations of supplies. If anyone would like to make monetary donation to help those in the Catskill region, please direct them to one of the local organizations in the affected areas (such as United Way of Delaware County, accepting monetary donations by phone at: 1-888-432-1030)

Thanks again to everyone for stepping up and helping in this important effort!

Elizabeth

Please distribute the below email widely to all of your NYC contacts/networks. Your assistance in publicizing this important effort is greatly appreciated!

_________________________________________________________________________

Catskill Mountain Irene Relief

Friends,

As many of you know from news reports, towns in the Catskill Mountain region of upstate New York were devastated by flooding in hurricane Irene's aftermath.

In an attempt to provide assistance to families in the affected Catskill Mountain areas - many of whom have lost their homes, businesses, livelihoods, and towns - a grassroots organization of concerned citizens are collecting donations here in NYC. We have established various locations around New York City where donations can be dropped off for transport to upstate New York by a wonderful network of volunteers, most who have homes and/or families in the Catskill Mountain region.

Many NYC residents stocked up on bottled water, batteries, non-perishable food, and other emergency supplies in preparation for the worst from Irene, luckily, those emergency supplies were not needed in most cases here in NYC. We ask that you all take a moment and simply drop off your unused hurricane emergency supplies (or any of the below suggested items) at a donation collection center near you. We will then have our network of volunteers transport these much needed items to drop off centers upstate in the affected Catskill Mountain areas.

Many transport volunteers are driving to the affected region in the coming days, so time is of the essence. Please help us in this effort and drop off your donations today!

All questions or inquiries about these efforts can be directed to: [email protected]

Thank you,

The Volunteers of Catskill Mountain Relief

Suggested Donations List

(the below list is not exhaustive, but is simply meant to serve as a general guide to the types of items needed)

In addition to bottled water and non-perishable foods, the following items are also urgently needed at present:

Cleaning Supplies

Laundry Soap

Toilet Paper

Paper Towels

Ajax/Clorox/etc.

Personal care products

Soap

Toothpaste

Toothbrushes

Deodorant

Feminine care products

Shampoo/Conditioner (adult and for babies/children)

Diapers

Baby Wipes

Clothing

Underwear (adults and children, including boxers)

Socks (adults and children)

Pajamas (adults and children)

Shoes (especially children's)

Any gently used clothing

Other

Charcoal and lighter fluid

Propane tanks

Formula and baby food

Bedding

NYC Donation Collection Sites

Soho Location

Powell Communications

84 Wooster Street # 603

(between Spring and Broome)

Monday through Friday

9:00 a.m.- 6:00 p.m.

Greenwich Village Location

Ciao Stella Restaurant

206 Sullivan Street

(between Bleecker and West 3rd)

ask for Stella

Tuesday-Saturday

5:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.

Midtown Location

Decorum Consulting Group

295 Madison Avenue, 8th Floor

(one block from Grand Central)

Ask for Jeannine Stryker-Triolo

Monday through Friday.

8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Brooklyn Donation Collection Sites:

Park Slope

Boing Boing Maternity

Corner of 6th and Union

Ask for Karen or Kevin

Tuesday through Sunday

11:00 a.m.- 7:00 a.m.

(can also leave donations in the gated yard during off hours)

Williamsburg

Red Shed Community Garden

266 Stillman Avenue

(at Kingsland)

THIS WEEK

Wednesday through Friday

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

NEXT WEEK AND BEYOND

Tuesday and Thursday

6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

Long Island and Staten Island Donation Collection Sites

Please email [email protected] for the location of specific donation collection sites.