NC Group Helped In NJ After Sandy; Now Sandy Group Returns Favor

TOMS RIVER, NJ — In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, as residents whose homes were flooded tried to pick up the pieces, volunteers showed up from all over the country.

They brought donations to meet residents' immediate needs, like toiletries and new underwear.

"Someone gave me a tube of toothpaste and a pair of socks," said Judy Durkin Scheller, who lived in a rented home in Bay Head and lost most of her possessions when Sandy hit. "It was like a million dollars."

They also brought volunteers to help with the physical labor, pulling out ruined carpeting and tearing out damaged drywall. They cleaned and treated what remained to try to stop mold. While the volunteers came from all over, one of the well-known groups was from North Carolina: Baptists on a Mission.

"Everybody knew the North Carolina men," said Joan DeLucia, who lives in Toms River and founded Sandy Weekday Warriors as she jumped in to help those in need in Sandy's wake. They brought moldicide. They put in hours of work. "They didn't take a penny, they didn't charge."

The North Carolina Baptist team did mold remediation and rebuilding of close to 1,000 homes, including fixing homes where residents were left with issues following reconstruction, Scheller said, supporting the Paying It Forward Foundation, the Bucket Brigade and Sandy Weekday Warriors for nearly four years after Sandy.

So when Hurricane Florence flooded thousands of homes in the Carolinas, Scheller and DeLucia, along with others, jumped into action, seeking donations of generators, cleaning supplies and more, and coordinating efforts to get items and help to those in need now.

"When you've been in that situation, when you know that desperation, you do what you need to be that comfort to someone else, because you've been there," Scheller said.

DeLucia, who lives inland in Toms River and was spared any significant damage, remembers that desperation; she remembers seeing people standing amid the destruction, just staring at the damage. "They didn't know what to do."

DeLucia learned the lessons in her childhood. She is one of 12 children and grew up seeing her family pull together to help each other during a crisis, regardless of the form it took. Sandy Weekday Warriors worked with groups like the Bucket Brigade that was led by Cassandra Vitale to help those in need. That's where DeLucia met Scheller, who joined the Bucket Brigade efforts to give back after her home was ruined.

"We did whatever we could," DeLucia said. "We were gutting homes. We shoveled the streets, cleaned the houses. Other people were feeding them."

"I was on the island five days a week," she said, and noted the community pulled together. One store owner took Scheller and DeLucia to his shelves stocked with shampoo and toothpaste and donated it.

"He cleared his shelf," Scheller said. "Joan and I were there. First we cried and then we were jumping like we were kids at the circus."

"We kept looking for FEMA" but the community pulled together, DeLucia said. For example, Blue Wave, the company that printed up T-shirts to raise money for Sandy victims, provided portajohns on the barrier island that allowed volunteers to work for more than a few hours at a time. "That was critical," DeLucia said. "Groups didn't want to send their volunteers to work for just a few hours."

Last year, when Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria pounded Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico, Weekday Warriors was active. DeLucia and Scheller took donations and DeLucia got them delivered to those in need.

"People will say, 'Oh, I don't have much,' " Scheller said, "but $5 to (someone who has lost everything) is enormous."

After Sandy, the assistance of groups like the Bucket Brigade and Weekday Warriors was critical, Scheller said.

"People had hope and they knew they weren't alone," DeLucia said. "Hope goes a long way."

"We know we can't save the world," DeLucia said. "If we can help some families, that's what we want to do."

DeLucia sent two small trucks of items on their way to North Carolina on Friday, and she will be leaving on Monday with another truck carrying generators, cleaning supplies and more. Sandy Weekday Warriors will keep delivering donations for much of October, she said. Jim Harti is the person who does the driving, she said, volunteering his time.

If you want to help, donations can be dropped off at the Toms River EMS building, 11 Irons St. Items that are they are requesting right now are: Cleaning supplies (bleach, Fantastik); small hand tools such as crowbars and sledgehammers; tarps; N95 masks (for people gutting homes); contractor garbage bags; Tyvek suits; gloves.

Other items that can be donated:

• Food: Only non-perishable items in cans or plastic bottles. No glass and no expired foods.
• Bottled water
• Gift cards to places like Target, Walmart, Lowes and Home Depot
• Packages of new socks and new underwear.
• They will not be accepting donations of used clothing.

The Baptist Mission also is accepting cash donations through its donation site.

Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here. Have a news tip? Email karen.wall@patch.com

Follow us on Facebook. Click here to like our page.

Joan DeLucia with donations collected for Hurricane Harvey victims, provided by Judy Durkin Scheller. Photo of Judy Scheller giving massages to workers helping Sandy victims, provided by Judy Durkin Scheller