Sunday, November 11, 2012

140+ Miles of Giving

Sea Bright, New Jersey--

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to embark to Sea Bright, New Jersey to document relief efforts taking place. Sea Bright, a town ravaged during Hurricane Sandy is a ghost town except for all of the volunteers and power companies working effortlessly to restore life back to this small seaside community. This weekend was the first time residents were allowed back in to see what was left of their homes and even then, they had to surpass the National Guard to enter. I was not prepared for what I saw, but in all honesty, I don't believe you could ever really be prepared.

I travelled down to Sea Bright with many volunteers from Carbon County, Pennsylvania and it was all the brain-child of one man. Kevin Steber, became aware of all the devastation that occurred from his friend, Sea Bright Fire Chief, Chad Murphy. Steber couldn't sit back and watch without doing something and because of that a tractor trailer, one U-Haul, an ambulance, and many vehicles were overflowing with donations from hundreds of people. Steber and volunteers travelled the 140 mile journey and brought smiles to many many faces.

Along the journey yesterday, I not only saw with my own eyes the devastation firsthand, but got to meet so many great people and learn their stories.

Below are some images and I hope they will captivate you as they captivated me when I was there.