CAN-DO x North Face Clothing Drive for Hurricane Survivors

CAN-DO spent more than two months on the ground in Gerritson Beach, NY providing immediate relief for the residents devastated by Superstorm Sandy–one of the deadliest and most destructive storms of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season. What we did:

– Set-up a central distribution command center and reorganized existing distribution tents and containers along with Gerritson Beach Cares to streamline relief efforts for the community.– Distributed a container full of brand new warm clothing items that were generously donated by The North Face to hundreds of Gerritson Beach families who had lost just about everything after Superstorm Sandy. One of CAN-DO's core ethos is ensuring every distribution site is built with dignity and respect. We organize and hang all items so the distribution site feels more like a proper store, not relief tossed in boxes or scattered on the ground. 

– Created an interim community grief-counseling center where residents could speak with licensed professionals seven days a week. – Created an interim community wellness center where residents could take a break from clean-up and receive complimentary acupuncture and massage therapy and speak to wellness experts. – Set-up an educational hub where residents could come and learn about proper mold remediation and heath dangers of not properly removing the toxic mold in their homes from the storm. We discovered hundreds of families were already experiencing side effects from the mold but didn’t know the proper steps to remediate the mold. CAN-DO helped negotiate discounted rates for residents from reputable mold remediation companies in the area as well as advocated for residents negotiated with insurance companies to remove the mold. – Partnered with Gerritson Beach Cares to identify some of the “worse case scenario” families impacted by the mold and help provide immediate relief to these families by cleaning their homes which included replacing sheetrock and insulation of air filter systems.