We Are Back Online!

For those of you who view our news feed online, we are truly sorry that we have not been able to keep up.  Since we are entirely made up of volunteers who have also been affected by Superstorm Sandy, many of us were without power and/or regular internet service.  But we were able to connect to Facebook via smartphones, so we were able to get some information out that way and communicate with those who needed help.  Our core is now back up and running, and so are we.  To get you up to speed, this is some of the things that we have been up to since the storm hit:

This was just a snippet of what happened to the dog park.  In total, we had 12 very large trees down in our 2.5 acre space. 

Our storage container was completely moved off of its foundation and turned around.  Normally, it is closer to the entrance, and runs parallel to Rockaway Freeway.  On the side across from the plain white side, is a large mural inspired by artwork from elementary students in Rockaway.  That side should be facing the street.  Everything inside the container was knocked over, and since the container took on water, all of our supplies for events, park maintenance, outreach, and items we had collected for our shelter drives is now destroyed. 

After surveying the damage from the park and speaking with our parks department, we found that there was nothing to be done until the trees get cleared.  Since it took so long to be able to even get into the park in order to open the container, there is nothing salvageable.  At this point, we will probably need someone to come in who is trained in dealing with mold removal.  We will also need to hire someone to move the container back to its foundation.  We would need to raise money, but that could be done later.  There was nothing to be done at the present.

We were sure people needed help, but who, and how would we start?  We tried to contact our regulars and members to find out if they were ok and if they needed any help.  Some only had home phones that were down, some had cell phones that had died, but we did get in touch with a few people.  Many said that they were fine, but some were running out of supplies, while others asked for things for their neighbors.  So we took the money that we had just raised at the Costume Carnival the Saturday before, and went out and bought supplies.  We asked friends who weren't affected if they would like to donate items, and we put out the word for the need for fosters and adopters.  Seeing that we had just received our non profit determination from the IRS the week prior to the storm, we tried to get in touch with larger organizations and businesses, but unfortunately, we still had other paperwork that hadn't been filled out yet, and there just wasn't time for that.  Since many of us no longer had cars, we borrowed rides, and went around to help.  We found fosters for 7 turtles, an adopter for a Russian tortoise, rescued one dog, helped find a home for a bunny, and looked for a foster for a parrot.  We delivered dozens of cans of wet dog and cat food, 10 bags of dry dog food, leashes, collars, cat litter, pans, 2 bags of parrot food, 2 bags of hamster food and 2 packs of small animal bedding, one bag of rabbit food, and a few toys for animals.  Our Executive Director spoke at a town hall meeting on B94th St to let people know that help was available.  We even had New York Tails and the host of Pets in the City on Pet Life Radio come out to spend the day with us and do some stories about what was going on in our area, and how it was affecting the pet owners of Rockaway.  We even handed out supplies to a couple of local rescues who were helping with pets that were being taken care of. 

Now that the city has come in to help, the work is easier, but it is still far from over.  We still have animals in need of homes.  Some people still have missing pets, or are in need of help.  We are committed to helping in whatever way we can, even while we are still getting ourselves in order.

If you would like to help or know someone in need of help, please email us at info@arfarfrockaway.org or call 917-903-6518.  There is no donation too small, or any man hours that will go to waste.  We thank everyone who has already donated money, supplies, and time.  You have made it possible for Rockaway to recover and start rebuilding.  We hope that this help will continue as we move forward.

We are currently coming up with a plan of how we will move forward.  We have several ideas of things that we would like to implement.  Things that Rockaway should have always had, but there was never enough time or money.  Hopefully, this will change.  Stay tuned.

To like us on Facebook, click this link: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Allied-Rockaway-Foundation-for-Animal-Recreation-and-Fitness-ARF-ARF/211241952248318

To see videos of the day with New York Tails, go here: https://www.youtube.com/user/NewYorkTailsTV?feature=watch

To hear the interview on Pet Life Radio, click here: http://petliferadio.com/cityep43.html