Merrick Helps Those Impacted by Sandy

When Hurricane Sandy struck, locals banded together to raise money, collect food and clothing and do whatever they could to help their neighbors.

Here's a look at some of those local stories from last year on Patch.

• De La Mer Hosts Sandy Collection Despite Devastation: For Esther DiDonna, the owner of De La Mer Salon in Merrick, the week following Hurricane Sandy was nothing short of life-changing. 
• Merrick Love Trumps Sandy: For Rachel Meyorwitz and William Brody, not even Hurricane Sandy could prevent them from getting married. The Merrick couple was scheduled to be married at The Venetian in Babylon on Nov. 3, but when Sandy struck, several questions arose. 
• Merokean Shares Poem After Home Ravaged by Sandy: Ali Goldsmith’s home on Beach Drive in Merrick was ravaged by Hurricane Sandy. She lives with her husband, mother, three children and bulldog, and the family was forced to relocate due to extreme flooding that rendered the home uninhabitable. 
  
• Merrick FD Hosts Food/Clothing Drive for Long Beach: The Friendship Fire Station of the Merrick Fire Department hosted a food and clothing drive for the people of Long Beach who have lost all or almost everything. 
  
• Cure of Ars Gives Free Coffee, Soup and More: Cure of Ars Church had free coffee, muffins and cookies. They also served soup. In addition, they gave out free ice and there were charging stations for cell phone and computers.
  
• Merrick-Based Cleaners Gives Back to Sandy Victims: Hurricane Sandy certainly left her mark on the Merrick area in a number of ways – power outages, flooding, and property damage – and one major byproduct of all that mayhem being felt in one area many people might not realize; the laundry basket.
  
• Merokean Organizes Sandy Relief Benefit: Rich McElligott of Merrick watched his family, friends and neighbors forced out of their homes after Superstorm Sandy and felt he needed to do something to help.
  
• Jewish Community Council Collects for Sandy Relief: The Merrick Bellmore Jewish Community Council, under the auspices of Merrick Jewish Centre, Temple Beth Am and Congregation Ohav Shalom, collected donations to help with Hurricane relief. 
  
• Temple Beth Am Collects for Sandy Victims: The Merrick Bellmore Jewish Community Council took up a collection at Temple Beth Am in Merrick to distribute items for those in need due to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy.
  
• Bellmore-Merrick CHSD Continues Sandy Outreach: Items that were collected throughout the week at the district’s schools were brought to Brookside, and students separated items by category so families would have an easy time getting the things they needed. Many families came to get clothing, food and charge up their electronics. There was also counselors on hand to speak with people that needed assistance.
  
• South Merrick Civic Collects for Sandy Victims: The South Merrick Community Civic Association collected donations of non-perishable foods and cleaning products for those in need as a result of the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. 
  
• JFK 'Dancing with the Teachers' Raises $7K for Sandy Relief: Eight John F. Kennedy High School (JFKHS) teachers recently partnered up with professional dancers and showed off their moves at last year’s “JFK Dancing with the Teachers” competition.