Calling the Irish in New York - the Rockaways need our help

Irish Day of Action for Rockaways on November 24

“We’ll be there for people to store the things that they’re bringing out, especially contractors who might have heavy equipment that won’t fit on a bus,” Liffey manager Mike Neville told the Irish Voice.

“There will be plenty of room, so people should feel free to bring whatever they like. We will take it there and bring it back to the pick-up locations.”

In the Bronx, the Aisling Center has already been running buses of volunteer workers to the Rockaways for weeks now. “We’ve had large numbers of volunteers participating already,” Aisling Center executive director Orla Kelleher told the Irish Voice. 

“At the weekend we had 50 volunteers clean out 10 houses of elderly Irish people and gut two bars. It would be great to see what can happen when a few hundred Irish people go out there.”

At the Emerald Isle Immigration Center in Woodside, executive director Siobhan Dennehy also appealed for skilled Irish workers to participate alongside other volunteers.

“The basic biggest need right now is removing items from houses and getting them out on the curb,” Dennehy said. “But we’d like to try to match people’s skills to the jobs at hand. 

“There’s a huge need to find licensed electricians. If someone has plumbing or construction skills, or are willing to take on a role as a project manager that’s what we’re hoping to assign.”

Dennehy added that it’s a volunteer effort for a very god cause. “We’re looking for people to show up on Saturday and help out in whatever way they can,” she said.

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Nster.com