Reading Middle School Student Collecting Donations for Sandy Victims

Nina Gray, an eighth grader at Parker Middle School, is working on an ongoing relief effort for Hurricane Sandy victims. Nina and her mother, Rachel, are collecting donations and personally delivering them to those in need. 

Rachel is originally from New York and knows several people that were affected by the storm. The home that she grew up in was damaged, and her neighborhood "washed away."

"Nina came to me after seeing television reports of the devastation and asked what we could do to help," Rachel said.

To aid those affected by the storm that may be without homes or shelter, the mother-daughter duo is collecting donations of socks and underwear, which are items in demand.

"While cleaning supplies will always be necessary, they are costly to transport and cannot be legally shipped. Not to mention much of those supplies will be continually sponsored by corporations," Rachel told Patch.

Both Nina and Rachel will be collecting donations throughout the winter and had already collected enough to make their first "drop-off" trip to a Red Cross center in New Jersey last weekend. They plan to make another trip to New York in a few months. In the meantime, they will ship donations to their contacts in the city who will distribute the donations and "to the centers that the Occupy Sandy movement has publicized on its website, as its grassroots army is able to distribute items directly to those in need."

Fit-Revolution in North Reading and Nails Plus by Lisa in Reading will both be drop-off sites for those interested in donating.

"I am happy to speak with people privately about them getting items to me if they comment on the article," Rachel said.