SOUTHWICK – Joseph Deedy and members of his family and staff at Moolicious Ice Cream spent last Saturday delivering much needed supplies to victims of Hurricane Sandy.
Deedy brought a truckload of donated items, including 500 coats, 150 blankets and 5,120 bottles of water to Red Hook, New York, a community in Brooklyn near the water.
“It was wonderful,” Deedy said of the experience.
Deedy began collecting donations last week and said people were very generous.
“We were still taking donations at 11 p.m. the night before,” Deedy said.
Most donors, said Deedy, heard about the drive via Facebook and The Westfield News, and were happy to help.
Deedy was able to see first-hand a glimpse of the devastation in Brooklyn.
“We didn’t see much sand because we were about three streets away from the water,” he said, “but we could definitely see the effects of the power outage.”
The 2.800 residents of the 14-building Gowanus Houses, a New York Housing Authority complex, were still without power and water when Deedy and his crew arrived Nov. 10.
“There were people walking all over the city carrying water and bags with some sort of food,” Deedy said, adding that because of the water shortage people were happy to see a pallet of bottled water removed from his truck.
Deedy said a group of students from a nearby college arrive daily in Red Hook to help however they can.
“They helped us unload the truck and carry water up to the second floor,” he said.
Although the situation is tragic, Deedy said he enjoyed helping those in need and rallying with the community here to collect donations.
