By Joe Bayona

UNION BEACH – On Sunday April 13, Starbucks, The Gateway Church of Christ, a little over two hundred volunteers, (comprised mostly of Starbucks employees from Middlesex and Monmouth counties), and Congressman Frank Pallone, got together for the Union Beach “Day of Caring” to help victims of Super Storm Sandy.

The Day of Caring is part of Starbucks’ fourth annual Global Month of Service, where employees and customers work together to lead community service projects focused on the individual needs of the neighborhoods where they live and work.

“Every April Starbucks has its ‘Month of Service’ where we target communities who need help,” said Kevin Horner, District Manager North Jersey for Starbucks. “A lot of people are under the impression that everything is fine in New Jersey since Super Storm Sandy, and this is just not true. People see the commercials on TV announcing that the Jersey Shore is open for business and think all is fine”

“There are many people whose homes have been damaged or destroyed by the storm, many of whom are still homeless. You can take a ride along the shore and see homes that seem undamaged and pristine. But these homes have been flooded by water, so the interior is destroyed along with all of the contents. You open the door to one of these homes and the smell of mildew is overpowering,” said Horner.

The man who coordinated the Day of Caring is Joe Tamburello. Joe is the coordinator of the Gateway Church of Christ Disaster Response Team.

The Gateway Church of Christ Disaster Response Team was started in the wake of the devastation caused by Super Storm Sandy. The disaster response team is responsible for the Bayshore Community in Monmouth County. To date they have rebuilt 150 homes and are currently working on more than seventy more.

“There is so much work to be done,” said Tamburello. “Last year we had close to 20,000 volunteers, most came from out of  state, only 20 percent were from New Jersey. We need to get the word out that volunteers are needed both skilled and unskilled.”

All the volunteers assembled at the ball field behind the police station on Poole Ave. From there they broke up into groups that were assigned specific tasks such as; demolition, painting, landscaping and cleanup. Then all the groups went out into the community and performed these tasks.

Anyone wishing to volunteer for the Disaster Response Team can go to this website; http://www.gatewaynj.com.