Fires, floods and other natural disasters are devastating to those affected, so even the smallest comforts can mean the world. Recently, more than 60 employees from PSEG assembled American Red Cross Comfort Kits for people who have experienced such tragedies.
Red Cross Comfort Kits are a significant part of the first response, providing victims with the very basic necessities as they begin to recover from a life changing event. Each kit includes an American Red Cross bag with 13 personal hygiene items, including soap, shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant, as well as a bilingual note for recipients.
“Together with food and shelter, comfort kits are so very important in the early hours following a disaster and provide victims with a sense of normalcy and comfort as they deal with the crisis at hand,” said Steven Spinner, Division Philanthropy Officer for the New Jersey Region of the American Red Cross. “We are pleased and grateful that PSEG’s employees volunteered their time to help make a difference in the lives of the people we serve.”
Supporting New Jersey residents and communities is nothing new for PSEG employees, who have a long history of helping those in need.
“It was important for me to volunteer because I wanted to bring some comfort and cheer to those less fortunate who are facing life’s challenges. The kits were a great way to do that,” said Procurement Center Supervisor Tamar Sorrell.
Fellow volunteer Steve Calvanese, employee services representative, echoed the sentiment. “I’m a big believer in giving back and helping out in our communities. I believe that the measure of a person’s life is the effect they have on others, that’s why I wanted to volunteer my time to this activity.”
In total, volunteers assembled 1,000 kits that will be distributed to those in need, including families impacted by future home fires across New Jersey similar to the one that recently occurred in Bound Brook. Last year, the American Red Cross responded to nearly 1,000 disasters and helped over 2,000 families across the state.
Where were you in NJ hurricane Sandy for the elderly? Two weeks no heat or water & live down power lines in street we slept daytime in local library with generator & part night at a local school then back to ice cold house with no water since we are on a septic no toilets nothing!
Great and all but no social distancing or masks in the photo.
I had a house fire on 1/8/2017. Lost EVERYTHING including my cat. I had homeowners but got ripped off from a public adjuster.(totally). Never got any help from anyone (my Boro that I lived all my life) including red cross. I heard a lot of nice stories about them helping people that had house fires but not me..So now my house has no insulation and the windows are not right.. Any kind of help would be great..