Harrowsmith Area Responds To Super Storm Sandy

Jeff Green | Jan 17, 2013

Long Beach, NY is the original hometown of Harrowsmith resident Kristine Marks and she still has family and close ties to people there. When Super Storm Sandy swept through the US recently, most of her family and several friends were affected. The storm and flooding of October 29 left the entire community of Long Beach, as well as many others, devastated. Kristine’s immediate response was to help in any way possible and she says she “littered local businesses and mailboxes with flyers requesting donations”. The result was overwhelming. Her original plan was to fill her Jeep Cherokee with goods and deliver them to Long Beach. However, the donations kept pouring in, quickly filling her (not so small) garage. She and her husband Lloyd eventually had to rent a U-Haul to deliver a portion of what was collected. She says, “I am so grateful to live in such a wonderful community, where people are willing to help those in need, no matter who they are and where they live.”

Kristine’s father, Paul Henck, recently sent a letter to thank the residents of the Harrowsmith area. He wrote, “Progress is continuing although many people are still out of their homes and many businesses remain closed. Insurance companies have been very slow to pay out so that hampers all rebuilding & restocking of homes. The main purpose of this letter is to let you all know how grateful we are that so many people from so far away cared enough to donate so much, from clothes and shoes/boots to bedding, money, household appliances and more. We were torn when distributing money, due to the overwhelming need for it. Rest assured we chose families most in need.”

Kristine would like to remind people that the rebuilding process will be ongoing, and that she would be more than happy to deliver any extra donations of goods or money to Long Beach. She can be contacted at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 613-985-4979.