Politix

Prev Next
Featured Quizzes
Politix Daily Headlines
Featured Debates
Issues

See all 17 issues

People
White House

See all people

OCCUPY THANKSGIVING

Occupy Sandy Served 10,000 Thanksgiving Meals

Group praised for post-Sandy relief

Next>

Occupy Sandy volunteers sort donated clothes / Image: News to Me

Count this as your feelgood Thanksgiving weekend news (and an antidote to items like this and this).

Occupy Sandy, the hurricane relief effort coordinated by former Occupiers, served over 10,000 meals to New Yorkers whose homes were damaged or destroyed in last month's hurricane.

One volunteer interviewed by the LA Times said that he was "almost too busy to talk" during the food drive and was "carving a turkey as we speak."

Occupy's post-Sandy relief work has drawn praise for its success in channeling the fundraising and volunteer efforts of ordinary New Yorkers. The group has set up "hubs" in NYC churches and school buildings to distribute food and clothing to victims of the hurricane. It now has a mailing list of 50,000+ volunteers, and has collected over $500,000 in donations.

Volunteers have set up a Facebook page and a WePay account to receive contributions, and organizers join weekly conference calls to coordinate with FEMA and other relief groups.

Via the LA Times and the BBC.
Like this article? B Vote Up
?

Is Occupy Sandy a good move for the Occupy movement?

Comments (view in Forum)

  • u
    Cheenoguy
    !
    The second line exists because the first one did.
    The thing I have never understood about the anti-occupy people is how they don't understand a disillusioned youth. They saw a problem with society and didn't know how to fix it. They decided that drawing attention to it would be doing something. Now that they've realized that the two parties are controlled by corporations and that they have abducted the election system insuring change will be next to impossible they started looking for ways to make a difference. The Occupy Sandy thing really cemented that and the Rolling Jubilee is an awesome f$&@ you to the banks while bailing out people and doing it entirely legal.
    I never got involved personally with the Occupy "camp ins" but had they occured before I had a family I might have. I tried to support in ways that I could but I am very proud of those kids. I am also inspired.
  • DerivePI
    !
    @Cheenoguy - The original protest was, from my perspective, a position of selfishness and baby crying. The people who spend their time helping those who are in need are showing selflessness and maturity. Having hired people for technical positions, I recognize the need to hire people with specific skills. I have also learned the need to eliminate people who have the wrong attitude towards work regardless of their skill sets. An attitude of entitlement will ruin an employee and bring the company's morale down.
  • u
    Cheenoguy
    !
    @DerivePI
    Having spoken via twitter and other social media with many people involved with many in Occupy Wall Street (and other locations) and personally with Occupy Indy people I think that perception is based on media portrayal. The people they interviewed usually had nothing in common with the ones I know.
    It's kinda like the tornado hitting a suburban area taking out the homes of many people. They almost always interview the shirtless guy in overalls who pronounces it "tur-Nader"
  • DerivePI
    !
    @Denizen_Kate - In the work place, anything preceded with "thats not in my job description," lack of initiative, complacency (to some extent), lack of flexibility, or "you don't pay me enough to ..." An entitled employee has earned his job. A good employee earns his job every day.
  • View all 12 replies >
  • stepped_in_it
    !
    Great job. See what you can do when you come out of your tents and put what's left of your mind to work. Just wonder though how much they have collected in donations? Oh well, at least they're doing something except whining about their failures. LOL
  • o
    Sonny
    !
    They were never "whining about their failures"...YOU just didn't "get it"...Don't blame them if you missed the whole point that they were trying to make----A lot of other people understood it.
  • o
    Sonny
    !
    @stepped_in_it They did, and still do have a lot of support. But even if they didn't what they were protesting was well worth while....
  • u
    mtkopf
    !
    I find it hilarious that the first couple of postsby rRepublicans can't just praise what these people are doing without throwing in acouple of jabs.
    Oh yeah, I forgot, Republicans think the people affected by the storm just want a free handout and don't deserve any help from the government.
  • stepped_in_it
    !
    Damn, when did I become a Republican?? As for my comments, I stand behind them. You don't get to do something good and have ALL your past forgotten/forgiven. By the way, I am an INDEPENDENT. I was given two sides of a brain and I use both of them.....YOU?
  • LGRepublican
    !
    I find it equally as hilarious that if this was Katrina or the president's last name was Bush, the lefties would be foaming at the mouth because FEMA hadn't fixed everything and people were STILL without homes.
  • o
    Zoe2012
    !
    @LGRepublican "I find it equally as hilarious that if this was Katrina or the president's last name was Bush, the lefties would be foaming at the mouth because FEMA hadn't fixed everything and people were STILL without homes."

    Agree, don't forget the electric company!
  • Pragmatist
    !
    @LGRepublican There were several damaging hurricanes during Bush's administration - Ike, Wilma, Charles, Ivan, Rita, Frances and Gustav are all in the top ten most damaging storms and all during the Bush administration - but no one remembers them that much because the death toll wasn't very high and the relief efforts were sufficient.

    In contrast, Katrina was a very big storm, one of the most powerful in a century and killed nearly 2000 people. In that case, regular relief efforts and the federal government needed to step in to assist the state governments... unfortunately that didn't happen. In comparison, when Sandy, also one of the most destructive hurricanes in the last century, hit... while the damage was high... the relief efforts were quick and relatively organized and while never ideal... most people got help relatively quickly.

    Take this single fact... more people death due to post-storm related causes in Katrina (insufficient medical resources, lack of proper sanitation, lack of law enforcement) than the entire death toll for Sandy (storm + aftermath) and you can see why people blame Bush for Katrina. You could argue that it is unfair... because Katrina hit New Orleans when it was much more powerful than Sandy was by the time it hit the Atlantic seaboard... but right or wrong people don't look at such things.
  • View all 10 replies >
  • MRMacrum
    !
    Yeah. It should be taken as it is. 10,000 Thanksgiving meals served to folks who could definitely use some positive vibes.
  • Denizen_Kate
    !
    Way to look at the positive, Zoe. I guess in your case it really is true, no good deed ever goes unpunished. Can't you just be grateful when people do good things?
  • o
    Sonny
    !
    Well your "hopes" were realized, zoe. All they did was help some other Americans in their time of need...What did you do today?
  • Mbjhug
    !
    Any time a human helps another human for the simple sole fact of helping is a very good thing. We need more people like this, except all year round.
  • u
    Hireman
    !
    It's about time the Occupy movement has found a way to positively contribute to something. Good for them! I hope they get 10,000 thank you notes as well.
  • o
    Sonny
    !
    They have engaged in many, many productive activities. But the few bad apples seem to be the only thing that some people see and/or remember.
  • u
    S-N-A-F-U
    !
    Methinks the connotation of "occupy" was was a poor choice of wording. It hearkens back to "occupy wall street' where frequent rapes, theft and defecating on police cars took place. Give these people credit for their volunteering efforts, lest the aforementioned connection, if in fact there was one.....