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"When a disaster strikes, the bottom line is that we are all one and we have to help each other out," Armonk resident Kathy Reilly Fallon said. "You can't just sit back and wait for the mayor, or the government or Con Ed to help out."
Reilly Fallon, along with fellow Armonk residents Donna Gizzi and Stephanie Shea as well as Pleasantville resident Sheryl Nolletti and Susan Kleinman of Bedford, spearheaded an effort to gather donations of items to bring to families in Far Rockaway, N.Y. In the span of two days, the group collected two truckloads of items through their own purchases and from local residents and drove them out to the storm-ravaged area Wednesday morning.
"The goal was that we wanted to get out there before the nor'easter, so that people could have warm clothes or food items and things before that storm," Reilly Fallon said.
The group was directed by the National Guard to a large apartment complex in Far Rockaway, where they handed out the items with the building's superintendent. Fallon said the experience was eye opening.
"To see that area like that and what people are now left with, it's devastating," Reilly Fallon said. "This is still New York we're talking about."
Reilly Fallon and the group will make another trip to a storm ravaged area of Long Island on Monday, and they have vowed to make one trip a week as long as help is needed. Any residents interested in donating items can drop them off at Reilly Fallon's home at 11 Wampus Close in Armonk. The items that are in most need are bleach, paper towels, diapers, razors, clothes, non-perishable food items, bottled water, batteries and flashlights.
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