The Irish Homecoming - Proud of New Yorkers for stepping up and tough out Sandy devastation

April Drew proud to see American friends stepping up to the plate in face of Sandy

April Drew has been keeping up with the Irish American reaction to Hurricane Sandy and is proud that so many of her old friends are stepping up to the plate.  And it’s the simple things in life that will make us all happy at the end of the day, she says.

Hello, New York. You have been battered and bruised since we last spoke. Little did we know what was about to take place.

Like you always do New York, you rose to the occasion, you saved thousands of lives by having excellent evacuation procedures in place and now during the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy you are proving how wonderful your people are.

I’m hearing and reading that there are hundreds if not thousands of volunteers, young and old, digging through rubble and dust to help homeowners find their last remaining possessions. I hear your people are out early in the morning until dark removing debris from disaster sites.

Some volunteers have opened up their homes to strangers who have nowhere else to go. Your citizens are providing those misfortunes with necessary food and shelter (the basic needs in life), and above all you are showing them that behind all the material things we say we need to make us happy, you are a kind-hearted city that knows the importance of giving back in times of need.  

Although I’m 3,000 miles away in rainy Ireland words can’t describe how proud I am of the Irish in New York who are volunteering their time to help the misfortunate.  A friend in Woodlawn casually uttered these words to me last week after spending a few days collecting clothing and food to send out to the hardest hit areas of the city.  

“New York looked after us when we needed it, it gave us a job and hope and a future, so helping our neighbors (who aren’t Irish) is the least we can do,” this person said.

Every night before bed I check in with the Irish immigration centers in New York on Facebook to see their updates on what amazing work they did that day.

Between the Aisling Center in Yonkers, the New York Irish Center and Emerald Isle in Queens and the other immigration centers throughout New York, an army of good-hearted people have been deployed to the worst hit areas of the city, especially along the coast.

Every day without fail the Irish in Woodlawn, Queens and further afield take time off work, organize babysitters or give up a few hours (and in some cases a few days) to do something for others. You are all truly great.

If we all did our bit on a daily basis during normal times we would have a much more harmonious world. That would be nice.

It wasn’t just the immigration centers that took the initiative to get people helping out. Dozens of wonderful Irish bars in the tri-state area have either organized volunteers for the clean-up, hosted, or plan to host, a fundraiser and welcomed those who needed hot food into their establishments. The Irish restaurants, businesses, construction companies and county associations are also doing their bit to help out.

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Nster.com