From Jeff Senterman, Catskill Region Program Coordinator for the Trail Conference
Hurricane Irene has devastated the Catskill Mountain region. Flash floods above and beyond any historical records destroyed roads, bridges, dams, homes and in some places entire communities. The villages of Prattsville, Margaretville and Windham were hit extremely hard. Some people have described Prattsville today as being “wiped off the map,” and Windham’s Main Street as “being washed away.” Other communities experiencing tremendous damage include Hunter, Tannersville, Fleischmanns, Boiceville, Phoenicia, and Mount Tremper to name just a few.
No one is ever ready for destruction of this magnitude, but our rural Catskill communities have been especially hard hit. Farms, businesses and homes were all destroyed, leaving many residents with nothing but the clothes that they wore as they escaped from their flooded homes.
There are a number of organizations and groups that have begun to mobilize to help the residents of the Catskills rebuild their lives and their homes. I urge you to consider helping in any way possible. The Catskills are home to many trails that we love, and helping these towns and residents recover is a way to give back for all the enjoyment we have had over the years on the Catskill Region’s trails.
We have provided a list of these organizations and groups below. Where they have websites, we have included that information.
I would urge you to support our trail rebuilding efforts and the efforts of these groups to rebuild the Catskill Region’s communities.
--Jeffrey Senterman
Catskill Region Program Coordinator for the New York-New Jersey Trail Conference
Links: Post-Irene Trail Updates and NYNJTC.CatskillRegion on Facebook
|
Organization |
Mission |
Contact |
|
MARK Project |
The MARK Project is setting up a fund for coordinated efforts for flood relief and emergency repair in the Towns of Middletown and Roxbury and the villages of Fleischmanns and Roxbury. |
|
|
Town of Prattsville Relief Fund |
If you specifically want to help the Town of Prattsville in the Catskills, there is now a fund being administered by the Town of Prattsville and managed by the NBT Bank in Grand Gorge |
Town of Prattsville Relief Fund |
|
Schoharie County Community Action Program (donations tax deductible) |
Serves Schoharie County residents with clothing, funds, food, community information and referral- assisting coordination of resources in County which was hit hard in Middleburg and Schoharie – items needed: personal hygiene items, new clothes all sizes, your time-accepting applications for volunteers, money donations - specify memo on check “for flood victims” |
795 East Main Street, Suite 5 Cobleskill, NY 12043 phone 518-234-2568 or 1-866-849-2402
|
|
Amsterdam Fulmont Community Action Center |
Accepting donations for local Irene victims – clothing, cleaning supplies, blankets, toys and more |
Amsterdam Fulmont Community Action Center 518-842-0790, in the Riverfront Center |
| American Red Cross – Northeastern NY Region | With more than 35 shelters currently open, and the potential for additional shelters in the coming days, volunteers are needed in shelter operations, feeding, bulk distribution of supplies (comfort kits and cleanup kits, etc.), recovery information distribution, disaster assessment, counseling and emotional support, disaster public affairs, disaster nursing, and many other support areas. |
http://www.redcrossneny.org or (518) 458-8111 |