By: Haley Penkala
Hurricane Sandy impacted Assistant Principal Diane McFarlin greatly, even though she was far away from the actual storm.
The massive super storm struck the New Jersey and New York areas at the end of October, leaving a devastating impact. People were left without power, homes and clothing.
In the middle of the storm McFarlin got a frantic message from a close friend, Johnna Pomason that said, “Help is needed everywhere, mostly clothing.”
McFarlin went into action to help those in need. She started a winter clothing drive. All of the donations were shipped to the Highlands, a community in northern New Jersey. The Highlands community was a town Sandy hit harder than most others. It was directly in Sandy’s path.
Pomason was the receiver of the donations and distributed them accordingly. All of the leftover clothing she took to a closed down military base filled with homeless families.
People throughout the school heard the news and donated what they could. Staff members brought clothes. Alan McPhee donated money for shipping 16 boxes out to the East coast, and FFA donated 500 dollars towards shipping costs.
Girl scout, Freshman Ally McPhee, also helped. She heard about the drive and decided to bring it up at a troop meeting. The girls also went to work collecting clothing.
“The girl scouts have always been good at helping and they would be a good way to get the word out,” McPhee said. Victims of the storm are in desperate need and “are probably thankful because it’s always nice to have people help out in a bad situation,” said McPhee.
The drive at KHS is over, but the Red Cross is still accepting donations of food, clothing and money.