GOWANUS HOUSES SUPPORT - TUES. 11/6

[Ed Goldman]

I'm heading over to the Gowanus Houses asap.  Hope to see some of you all there.

ed

::: GOWANUS HOUSES SUPPORT - TUES. 11/6:::

First, we want to thank all the FUREE members, volunteers, donors, local restaurants, residents of Gowanus Houses, Ms. Scott, Beverly, Deedra, Gladys, Maria, NYC Council Member and City Harvest for supporting Gowanus residents yesterday!

We also want to send a special shout out to Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY) for sending a medical team to the community center to check in on residents, call in (and pick up) prescriptions for home-bound residents. And to Right To The City Alliance for sending a contribution that helped us get additional food when supplies started to run low. Thank you!

We wiped tears; hugged frustrated residents; served hot food; distributed food and supplies; recharged phones; handed out blankets and rebuilt a sense of community for the residents of Gowanus.

Day Four is going to be critical! We are racing against the clock with a nor'easter expecting hit NYC by dawn on Wednesday. According to reports, this may raise water levels up to 4 feet and will hover over us until Thursday.

It's also Election Day and with many residents still feeling the impact of Hurricane Sandy, we have several, important goals for the day and we hope we can count on your support:

1. Get families enough food, water and other supplies to last three days
2. Make sure that sick residents have enough medication and see medical personnel by the end of the day
3. Get residents to the polls and provide transportation assistance for the elderly and differently-abled

:::VOLUNTEER:::
We need about 30 volunteers for door-knocking, distribute food and complete food/water/supply deliveries to our families as well as make assessments of the medical needs of elders, sick and home-bound residents.

Volunteers are being asked to meet at the center (see address below) at 12 p.m. If you are interested in serving as an outreach coordinator, please come at 11 a.m. for a briefing.

Outreach and distribution will go on until 6 p.m.

We also need help in the evenings, when we tend to have less volunteers, to deliver hot food to home-bound residents between 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

:::DONATE:::
Again, we need THREE TIMES the amount of supplies we've been receiving so far. We want to make sure that families have enough to last through the nor'easter in the event that we can not safely operate relief efforts at Gowanus.

Please donate as much as you can; no donation is ever too small! Please give only what is on the list so we don't have an excess of food and supplies that we can't move:

- Baby food (vegetarian, with meat/chicken, fruit, cereal stages 1, 2, 3)
- Water
- Evaporated, powdered and regular milk (1/2 gal. or smaller)
- Soy milk
- Pediasure
- Ensure
- Glucerna
- Ready made formula (with iron, regular/soy/sensitive)
- Canned goods (beans, vegetables, tomato sauce, soups, tuna fish, sardines, vienna sausages)
- Protein/granola/cereal/fruit bars
- Apple Sauce
- Diapers (newborn, sizes 1, 4 and 6)
- Toddler training pants (sizes 4+)
- Flashlights
- Batteries (especially C and D)
- Candles/Flashlights
- Peanut butter
- Sliced bread
- Fruit (apples, oranges, bananas, etc)
- Disposable hand warmers
- Gloves
- Socks

Goods can be delivered between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. to the address listed below.

***We have enough clothing and blankets. Thanks!***

We also need cash contributions so we can purchase what is needed and to support this relief work at Gowanus Houses. To donate online, visit http://furee.org/donate or make checks payable to FUREE.

:::GET OUT THE VOTE!:::
Governor Cuomo issued an executive order allowing NYS residents to vote at ANY polling site. We need volunteers who can drive or walk residents needing transportation support to the polls between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. If you are driving, FUREE can provide a limited reimbursement for gas.

Location for all of this:
Gowanus Community Center, 420 Baltic Street in Brooklyn

To sign up, please contact Valery at 347 eight zero six 6435 or send e-mail to valery[at]furee[dot]org or lucas[at]furee.org

Again, thank you all for support!