AHA Teams Up With
Rebuilding Together Bergen County
October 2013
For the past few years AHA has sent a team each summer to New Orleans to participate in the recovery efforts there from Hurricane Katrina. This year’s team did the same work, but in our own backyard. Eight students, accompanied by AHA Faculty members Ms. Caust, Mrs. Chambers, Ms. Cucchisi, Miss Fay, Mrs. Miloscia, Miss Moran and Mrs. Sylvester, spent a week in July working with Rebuilding Together Bergen County. The Bergen County section of Rebuilding Together, which is a national organization, is working on rebuilding projects in Little Ferry and Moonachie that are still in need of recovery from Hurricane Sandy. Rebuilding Together gives preference to the elderly and to families who have been displaced from their homes.
The Recovery Center, which functioned as the headquarters for this project, was housed at the First Presbyterian Church in Moonachie, which itself was affected by the storm. The group started by scraping and painting the foundation of the host church. The rest of the week was spent on two homes in Moonachie, which were referred to as Crate and Barrel projects because the funds to rebuild these homes had been donated by the Crate and Barrel Company. Professionals did the electrical, carpentry and plumbing work and the AHA team assisted by scraping, taping, priming and painting. One of the homes was owned by a woman and her 91 year old mother. In the rebuilding process accommodations were made to the house to make navigating easier for her and to make it as energy efficient as possible. Senior Kayla Quigley said she her participation helped her realize how many people the storm affected so close to home. “I was shocked to see how much still needed to be done almost a year after the devastation occurred. Although it was very hot throughout the week and we were kept very busy, being surrounded by friends made the work a lot of fun. Also, seeing how much our effort truly helped the owners was a very rewarding experience.”
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