Helping others by the shore after Hurricane Sandy; Things you can do to give back and share with your children Today, 12-8-12, my son and I went down to Union Beach, which is next to Keyport to help clean up some of the mess left by Hurricane Sandy and its storm surges. Union Beach is not a wealthy area, but there was evidence the areas overlooking the sea were beginning to gentrify, with new condo’s and some larger homes, intertwined with the more modest homes typical of the area. While seeing photo’s gives us some idea of the damage, you need to see it to believe it. We found out about this particular project from fortheshore.org which is a web site devoted to different ways you can volunteer to help. While many of us in the northern part of the state were inconvenienced by a loss of power, most of us are now back to normal. By the shore, many people lost their homes. I had spoken with the other guitar player in my band whose home also was hit and he had told me about how he spent a few days gutting their small summer cottage in Barnegat, while he wore a hazmat suit to protect himself from the raw sewage that exploded out of the toilets from the back pressure on the sewage system. The top of a home that floated next to another home. For most of these people who lived by the Union Beach shore, they lost their principal home (this is not really a vacation community). As you can see in the photo, there are many scenes like this there. While most of the township is OK, there is one particular district by the shore that was most heavily hit. We spent the morning moving large pieces of decks, doors, toilets, siding and many personal belongings that are now destroyed. There was an effort to save things such as photos so the families have at least some memories to hold on to. There were many groups that came out to help. We all met at the Union Beach borough hall, and were taken by our particular group to the problem zone. There were many groups led by churches and other organizations that came out this morning to clean up the marshes. Since this was considered to be a kid friendly clean-up, many families joined in to help and clean up, using contractor bags, by hand picking up the refuse. There was an overwhelming sense of cooperation of everyone who attended. For many of us who want to show our children why they need to be grateful and thankful around the holidays, this is a family project you and your family may wish to be involved with. Fortheshore.org lists many projects every weekend. All you need to do is sign up. I hope you do. There is no better way to give back than to actually show up and do some of the work. What do you think? As always, I value your opinion