Volunteer Impact on Hurricane Sandy Response

New York Cares was on the ground the moment Hurricane Sandy hit the city. We started working with our Community Partners and the Office of Emergency Management right away to organize volunteer projects where they were needed most.

Click a date on the calendar below and see a highlight of how New York Cares volunteers helped the city recover in the first 30 days after the storm.

Immediate Need Response

• In the first several weeks after the storm, more than 7,000 volunteers were dispatched to the hardest hit areas to check on residents. In many cases, New York Cares volunteers were first responders on the scene. Click here to see images from the first 30 days after Sandy.

• Millions of dollars were donated to make the relief effort possible.
• The New York Cares Coat Drive launched early so residents without heat or a home could get coats immediately.

Beginning To Rebuild

• New York Cares worked with Team Rubicon to begin "mucking out" houses. Watch our volunteers in action.
• By mid-October 400 projects were completed.

Long-Term Recovery

• The muck out process continues.
• With services in affected communities stretched thin due to relief efforts, New York Cares bolsters job readiness programming, tutoring projects, and work with senior citizens in the Rockaways, South Brooklyn, and Staten Island to assist in long-term recovery efforts.