• Little League returns to Sandy-ravaged town

    After Hurricane Sandy destroyed Island Park's field, fences and equipment, a nonprofit stepped in to donate much-needed items lost in the storm. It was a homerun for the kids, who got a chance to return to the sport that they love. NBC's Stephanie Gosk reports.

    By Amy Perrette, Producer, NBC News

    ISLAND PARK, NY – In a small town on Long Island, still less than half rebuilt after Superstorm Sandy, Little League is finally getting underway. 

    Andrew Barwicki, who has been coaching Island Park Little League for four years, choked up while watching his players take the field for the first time on Saturday.

    “We have 220 kids that are playing this weekend and those kids are having the times of their lives,” he said.

    Click here to learn more about the organization Pitch in for Baseball

    Third baseman Hayden Smith, 10, is thrilled to be back on the field after Sandy made their home uninhabitable. 

    He missed his fellow players while he and his family stayed in a friend’s basement as repairs were being made on their home. Finally, on Little League’s opening day, they were able to move back into their house.

    Baseball is a reason to spend time together, he says.

    “It’s fun because I never got to do this in a long, long time,” Hayden said.

    The storm damaged homes and burst sewage pipes, flooding the whole town under four feet of water.

    “Two days after the storm, I came here, I looked at all of our equipment, and I realized it was completely lost,” said Barwicki, who serves as the president of both the Island Park Little League and Barwicki Investor Relations. “That equipment floated away into the ocean. We lost about $15,000 worth of equipment.”

    Island Park Little League has been a mainstay of the community since it began in 1957, so the possible loss of the 2013 season was devastating. 

    “People were out of their homes, they were displaced, people lost their jobs. I knew we could not go to the people of Island Park and ask them to pay,” said Barwicki.

    That is when Philadelphia-based nonprofit “Pitch in for Baseball” stepped in, replacing all the ruined equipment with donated gear. 

    “Let your equipment play extra innings” is the organization’s motto.

    David Rhode, executive director of “Pitch in For Baseball,” founded the organization in 2005 in the wake of Hurricane Katrina when was coaching his own boys. He noticed that expensive gear was piling up in his garage, unused. 

    “There have to be millions of people who have gear in their homes,” he thought at the time. “What if we were able to get that stuff in the hands of kids that really needed it?”

    Since its inception, the organization has supplied over $3 million of equipment to over 300 communities in the United States and over 75 countries worldwide, including Columbia, Haiti, and Iraq. 

    “To give [children] the chance to play, for kids to be kids, for us is a tremendous privilege,” said Rhode.

    The nonprofit is delivering nearly $150,000 worth of equipment to communities devastated by Sandy, including Island Park.

    “Baseball’s incredibly important,” Rhode said. “To be able to give something familiar like playing the game of baseball gives kids a sense of comfort, enables them to heal in a really simple way. Kids have been asked to sacrifice a lot.”

    Hayden’s mother, Sarah Smith, is especially grateful to “Pitch in for Baseball” for providing such a joyous moment for her son. 

    “There’s been a lot of sadness and a lot of loss, so to see him…I’m over the top happy,” she said. “I’ve been expressing sadness for so long, so the happiness is a little unfamiliar, but it’s great.”

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  • Recovery and loss on Staten Island

    Those who lost their homes during Hurricane Sandy are salvaging what they can from the wreckage, and trying to stay afloat financially as they cope with the aftermath of the storm. NBC's Ann Curry reports.

    In case you missed it, last night on "NBC Nightly News" Ann Curry visited residents of Staten Island who are still suffering in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. If you would like to help any of the families mentioned in the report, please click on the links below to learn more.

    Help Jen and Pedro Correa rebuild
    How to help the Wright family
    Donate to the Puglias

     

  • Sandy's aftermath: How you can help

    Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

    Rescue workers patrol a flooded street at Hoboken in New Jersey, Oct. 30, 2012. Millions of people across the eastern United States awoke on Tuesday to scenes of destruction wrought by monster storm Sandy, which knocked out power to huge swathes of the nation's most densely populated region, swamped New York's subway system and submerged streets in Manhattan's financial district.

    Suzanne Choney, NBC News writes

    Updated Nov. 8 2012   

    AMERICAN RED CROSS
    The Red Cross is providing shelter, clothes, supplies, food and blood, as needed, for the victims of Sandy. You can donate blood, but in terms of items, you'll be doing more for those in need by donating money instead of physical goods.

    Text message: Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to donate $10 to American Red Cross Disaster Relief. As in the case with other donations via mobile, the donation will show up on your wireless bill, or be deducted from your balance if you have a prepaid phone. You need to be 18 or older, or have parental permission, to donate this way. (If you change your mind, text the word STOP to 90999.)

    Phone: 800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767); for Spanish speakers, 800-257-7575; for TDD,  800-220-4095.

    To donate blood: Visit this Red Cross Web page.

    Online: American Red Cross

    SALVATION ARMY
    The Salvation Army is providing meals and shelter. "At this point, in-kind donations, such as used clothing and used furniture, are not being accepted for hurricane relief. However, these items are vital to supporting the day-to-day work of your local Salvation Army," the organization said Tuesday in a press release.

     Text message: Text the word STORM to 80888 to make a $10 donation. To confirm the donation, respond with the word “Yes.”

    Phone: 800-SAL-ARMY (800-725-2769)

    Online: Salvation Army; here's the organization's New Jersey site, and its Greater New York site.

    HUMANE SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES
    Many pet owners were able to take their pets with them, but for those who were not, the Humane Society's Animal Rescue Team is assembling staff and equipment to help rescue pets in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast.

    Online: Humane Society of the United States

    Phone: 301-258-8276

    AMERICAN HUMANE ASSOCIATION
    The association is helping animals that may need rescue or shelter.

    Text message: Text the word HUMANE to 80888 to donate $10.

    Phone: 866-242-1877.

    Online: The AHA's website for donating is here.

    HABITAT FOR HUMANITY
    Habitat, an international organization, helps those in need rebuild their homes after disaster strikes.

    Phone: If you want to make a donation, you can call Habitat's Partner Service Center at 800-HABITAT (422-4828). Press "0" when prompted and representatives will take your donation information over the phone.

    Online: This is Habitat for Humanity's main website, and this is the link for donating to Sandy victims.

    COMMUNITY FOODBANK OF NEW JERSEY
    This group coordinates efforts with the state's Office of Emergency Management, as well as with state and local nonprofit organizations.

    Online: Community FoodBank of New Jersey

    Phone: (908) 355- FOOD (3663), ext. 243.

    FEEDING AMERICA
    The organization will deliver food, water and supplies to communities in need through its network of food banks and the agencies they serve.

    Phone: 800-910-5524

    Online: This is Feeding America's main website.

    CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA
    Catholic Charities provides emergency food, shelter, direct financial assistance, counseling, and support "regardless of religious, social, or economic backgrounds."

    Online: More information here; main website here.

    Phone: 800-919-9338 

    AMERICARES
    This group provides emergency medicine and supplies. Donations are accepted on its accepts donations on its website.

    Phone: 800-486-4357.

    NEW YORK CARES
    This local NYC program is "the city's largest volunteer organization, running volunteer programs for 1,300 nonprofits, city agencies and public schools." It is recruiting volunteers to help with Sandy relief efforts, and is also raising money.

    Online: New York Cares; donation page here.

    Phone: 212-228-5000

    You can also approach the city government directly to volunteer, by emailing nycservice@cityhall.nyc.gov with your name, email address and borough.

    NYC MAYOR'S FUND
    The Mayor's Fund to Advance New York City charity supports "impactful public programs serving some of the City's greatest needs."

    Online: The Mayor's Fund website is here.

    DIRECT RELIEF INTERNATIONAL
    The organization provides medicine and supplies to partner health centers and clinics.

    Text message: Text the word RELIEF to 27722 to give $10.

    Phone: 805-964-4767.

    Online: Direct Relief International is the main website; go here to donate online.

    WORLD VISION
    Describing itself as "a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families" and communities, World Vision provides flood clean-up kits, hygiene kits, blanket and food kits.

    Text message: Text the word GIVEUSA to 777444 to donate $10.

    Phone: 888-511-6443.

    Online: For World Vision's Hurricane Sandy relief, click here.

    UNITED METHODIST COMMITTEE ON RELIEF
    Provides immediate relief, assistance with cleanup and rebuilding, pastoral counseling and support for children and youth who have been through trauma.

    Text message: Text the word RESPONSE to 80888 to give a $10 donation.

    Phone: 800-554-8583

    Online: United Methodist Committee on Relief

    JEWISH FEDERATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA
    The Jewish Federations of North America Hurricane Relief Fund will contribute to recovery and rebuilding.

    Text message: Text the word RELIEF to 51818 to pledge a donation.

    Online: The Jewish Federations of North America

    BREEZY POINT FUND RAISER
    One of the most badly damaged communities in Sandy's wake is Breezy Point, Queens. Catholic University student Matthew Petronis created this fundraising page to help his community rebuild. "I have seen the damage and can say that the place where I grew up during my childhood is almost gone," he wrote on the page, "but that is not the case for the children that are growing up now!" 

    Though smaller instant charities are not always recommended for donating (for reasons discussed below), NBC News reporters have interviewed Petronis, and verified his story.

    SAVE THE CHILDREN
    The organization has staff in New Jersey and New York to distribute baby blankets and hygiene items, and to create a "child-friendly
    environment in shelters."

    Text message: Text the word HURRICANE to 20222 to make a donation.

    Phone: 800-728-3843

    Online: Save the Children

    UNITED WAY
    In addition to a Sandy Recovery Fund, United Way helps operate the 2-1-1 national network that provides "24/7 critical, non-emergency health and human services information and connects volunteers to organizations seeking assistance." United Way spokesman Wilhelm U. Meierling says, "We’ve experienced a 40 percent increase in calls during and after the storm, but we want more people to know this resource exists."

    Text message: Text the word RECOVERY to 52000 to make a $10 donation.

    Online: United Way Hurricane Sandy Recovery Fund 

    INTERNATIONAL RESCUE COMMITTEE
    Sandy, of course, hit Haiti before it got to the U.S., and the IRC distributed emergency supplies — tarps, flashlights, water containers, mosquito nets — to more than 4,200 storm victims.The IRC is also working with other emergency responders to monitor makeshift camps where cholera was a problem in the past.

    Online: International Rescue Committee

    AARP FOUNDATION
    AARP Foundation has established a relief fund to support victims in the U.S. devastated by Sandy. AARP and its affiliates will match contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $500,000. 

    Online: To donate to the relief fund, please click here.

    OPERATION USA
    Operation USA is sending emergency, shelter and cleaning supplies to areas hit by Sandy, and is helping "community health clinics restore services to best serve their communities."

    Text message: Text the word OPUSA to 50555 to make a $10 donation.

    Phone: 800-678-7255

    Online: Operation USA

     

    WHAT ELSE TO THINK ABOUT
    We'll be updating this list.

    Remember that while giving is good, beware of those out there who are not good and are trying to trick you by taking your money. In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene last year, the Federal Trade Commission's caution still holds true: "Scammers may try to take advantage of a disaster, and so consumers should be wary of urgent appeals for charitable donations, and watch out for fraudulent home repair schemes after a storm."

    You can read more about avoiding home repair rip-offs and charity fraud from the FTC.

    Also, the FBI has counseled on its Facebook page "to beware of fraudulent emails and websites claiming to conduct charitable relief efforts. Disasters prompt individuals with criminal intent to solicit contributions purportedly for a charitable organization or a good cause," and suggests reading "Tips on Avoiding Fraudulent Charitable Contribution Schemes" to learn more about avoiding online fraud.