Our Big Little Adventures: Surveying Hurricane Sandy Damage

A year ago Sandy struck. And it wasn't pretty.

Last week, I had the opportunity to survey Sandy damage in Long Beach and the Rockaways alongside other funders and nonprofits.

As expected, I saw recovery still in progress. I saw neighborhoods still wrecked. Lives not fully back in swing. I heard communities desperate for more funding, answers and guidance. But thankful for so many, especially in their own communities.

I have a new understanding for what local nonprofits are going through, not just inside of their office, but their own lives.

I will always have the image in my head of the program manager's house that has been condemned, after losing everything. He shared that the night Sandy hit in Long Beach he had been all over the neighborhood checking on those that couldn't leave. Literally carrying neighbors from their homes. And then he took shelter in his home with his parents and they waited.

Water began quickly pushing through the front doors and toward the couch where the family of three began to pray. And as they prayed, the water receded. Unexplained.

In the Rockaways, another nonprofit leader said it best in one sentence. "Sandy pulled back the covers on a community that had desperately been seeking help, direction and support."

As we walked through neighborhoods in Long Beach, residents began peeping out their windows. And one by one, they came up to our group to share their stories. Their children are still being bussed over 2 hours to school, community programs are still shut down and families are living in homes masked by mold. While certain resources are available, there are simply not enough, and education / income levels are low.

I also saw the power in community foundations. I better understand their ability to secure larger funding streams while intertwining funding and help with local nonprofits.

I heard a constant echo throughout the communities - nonprofits, local government, residents. Stories of faith.

Sometimes it takes a disaster to unite a community (albeit painfully). It takes a disaster to highlight issues. And it takes a disaster to experience faith at its fullest.