Locals Donate Countless Items to Storm Sandy Victims

When New York, Staten Island, New Jersey and Long Island were crippled by Hurricane Sandy, Berlin resident Danielle Coccomo, who was New York born and raised, wanted to do something to help the victims.

Coccomo is part of Image Marketing Consultants in Plantsville so she called on some of her clients and friends to donate items needed for the storm victims. Image Marketing Consultants partnered with Gottfried and Somberg Wealth Management in Glastonbury and All-Star Driver in Watertown as well as St. Paul's School in Kensington to set up donations drop-off spots taking things until Nov. 15.

Coccomo also enlisted her friends, Robin Coccomo, Polly D'Addabbo, Betsy Caswell, Kelly Wenzel, and Laurie Skinner to donate and help out. Edco Engineering purchased an entire box on new work gloves, flashlights and batteries. St. Paul's School, who despite having their own relief effort for St. Rose's School in New Jersey, made enormous contributions to the supply drive. 

"We originally were going to try to stack a station wagon and drive it down to Brooklyn or Long Island but we had too many donations," Coccomo said. "We ended up filling an 18-wheeler, donated by All-Star Driver in Watertown. We stopped in Watertown and helped fill the truck. 

The items donated were the most needed things such as: bottles and gallons of water, toiletries, soap, baby diapers and wipes, baby food and formula, flashlights, AA, C and D batteries, pet food, new socks and underwear, non-perishable foods, toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning rags and cleaning supplies.

“More than 200,000 New Yorkers still are without power,” said Joshua Gottfried of Gottfried and Somberg last week. “They need help, and this is a way to work together to help our neighbors to the south."

The goods were to be distributed by the American Red Cross to residents in Staten Island, N.Y. and Rockaway Heights, N.J.

"We actually made contact with two churches down there, St. Mary Star of the Sea in Brooklyn and St. Gertrude's in Long Island and were able to get some of the supplies to them," Coccomo said. "I'm really proud of the amount of donations we were able to collect and proud of St. Paul's schools and the local companies who really made this successful."