"Fill A Bucket" Still Has Buckets to Fill

East Hampton residents and friends and family from surrounding communities responded overwhelmingly to the “Fill a Bucket” donation drive at Stop & Shop the weekend before Thanksgiving. 

Lynda Krasnitski and Karen Olson, organizers of the “Fill a Bucket” donation drive, thanked the community for its strong support and generosity. They would like to extend that thank you to include the many volunteers:  Rosemary Kilpatrick, Judy Klotzbier, Sheila Oakes, Denise Painter, Miranda Painter and Bev Walton. In addition, Belltown Motors assisted with transportation and MiMi Design/Lakeside Signs provided signs promoting the event.

They still have buckets to fill: local individuals and organizations that would like to take on a donation drive to help fill the remaining buckets are encouraged to contact Lynda Krasnitski at 860-539-0266 or Karen Olson at kayo4321@hotmail.com.

If you have knowledge of a community or area in need, please contact Lynda or Karen, or contact America Recovers directly (see contact information below).

Of the 150 buckets made available through a low-cost arrangement with Lowe’s, 75 buckets were filled with donated cleaning supplies: spray cleaners, rubber gloves, scrub brushes, wipes and sponges. In addition, there were multi-packs of paper towels, mops, and gallons of bleach collected.  All of these cleaning supplies filled a large cargo van which made its way to Madison, CT for immediate delivery to the “America Recovers” warehouse.  The donations were earmarked for the hard-hit communities including Breezy Point, NY; and Sea Bright, Newark and Dunellen, all in NJ.

The week following Thanksgiving,  an additional 20 five-gallon buckets, filled with masks, gloves and painting tools (brushes, rollers, small buckets, paint can openers, etc.), were delivered to America Recovers for distribution to communities transitioning from clean-up to rebuilding.

Six more buckets were filled with donations made possible through a young girl’s generosity.  She was celebrating her tenth birthday and instead of gifts she asked her guests for donations for the victims of Hurricane Sandy. She and her birthday guests collected over $200.  They were able to purchase many personal items needed for children under twelve years old.

Working with America Recovers has made the job of providing assistance to hurricane victims much less of a challenge. The Madison-based grass roots organization has been reaching out to impacted communities to determine the immediate and long-term needs of a community or area most impacted.  Originator Suzanne Novak connects with the communities and arranges for transportation and distribution through local organizations such as fire departments and churches. Her goal is to continue to support long-term those in need.

One of the most recent areas which will be receiving assistance through America Recovers will be Highlands, NJ.  According to the website http://helphighlandsnj.org, about 90% of the downtown residences have been deemed unlivable. The water mark reached as high as 10 feet on some of the homes and even the most elevated areas (in the downtown) had water at about 15 inches.  America Recovers continues to reach out to severely impacted communities, in CT, RI, NY and NJ.

A message posted by Suzanne Novak on the America Recovers Facebook page sums up the continuing effort:  “Holidays are coming. . .Giving hope and comfort to those in need will be our focus. . .as we celebrate our holidays we know many are now homeless and concerned about their next steps. America Recovers is committed to assisting with their way forward in any way we can! Thank you all for your continued generosity and support. God Bless!”

East Hampton residents and organizations can contact Lynda Krasnitski at 860-539-0266 or Karen Olson at kayo4321@hotmail.com to arrange for pickup of donations, to ask questions, or to volunteer. 

Specific questions about America Recovers can be directed to Suzanne Novak at 203-645-2209. Additional information and updates can also be found on America Recovers’ Facebook page.