Skip to contents
In This Issue:
When Victoria “Tory” Hill saw how badly New York, New Jersey and Connecticut residents had been hit by Hurricane Sandy, she knew she had to help in some way. She started with a conversation over lunch at Brookside Community Health Center, where she works as a community health worker.
“My coworkers and I thought it would be easy for people here to donate things they already had at home that were in good shape,” said Hill.
Hill had heard about the Karma Truck, a grassroots campaign organized by a family in Wellesley. The family acts as the “middleman,” using social media to facilitate goodwill donations, collecting these donations for a short period of time and delivering them by rented truck to small relief organizations in affected areas. The campaign’s current focus is Hurricane Sandy relief.
Hill and colleagues Nancy Kahn, MD, Max Alderman, Hannah Rosenblatt and Yanick Pierre led the effort to sort and pack donations. In three days, Brookside employees filled more than 30 boxes with new or gently-used donations, including everything from towels and bedding to First Aid kits, baby food and winter jackets. The packed Karma Truck set out for Staten Island earlier this week.
“I was blown away by what people were able to bring in a short time period,” said Hill. “To see the physical results and know they will be hand-delivered to the affected areas—it has had a huge impact on staff here. It brought people together, and it reminded me of how lucky we are.”
One of Hill’s colleagues, practice secretary Angie Santana, summed up the spirit of the effort: “Hoy es para ellos, y mañana es para nosotros,” which means, “Today is for others, and tomorrow is for us.”
Employees who wish to donate to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts may do so through United Way, which has set up a fund for relief. Watch for a link to your personal giving page through an email from the BWH United Way campaign.
The BWH Young Professionals will be collecting the following items for donation through Nov. 20: hand-warmers, flashlights, batteries (C, D and AAA), toddler food, baby food and formula, Gatorade/PowerAde/electrolyte packs, canned soup, ready-to-eat items such as cereal, granola and protein bars, adult diapers, feminine products, diapers and other baby supplies, and First Aid kits. These items can be dropped off in the bin outside of the cafeteria, or at the BYP’s monthly after-work social event Nov. 20. at 5 p.m. at the Mission Bar and Grill.