RED HOOK — A newly-formed community group that's helped organize Hurricane Sandy recovery efforts in Red Hook won a six-figure grant from the Brooklyn Recovery Fund last month.
The Red Hook Coalition, comprised of Red Hook residents, business owners, community groups and Occupy Sandy volunteers, was awarded $100,000 by the Brooklyn Community Foundation last week.
"There's a huge need," Red Hook Coalition coordinator Kirby Desmarais said. "Right now, at this given second, there's projects that we're working on at 120 locations that are getting volunteers and workers every single weekend."
The Coalition's recovery "projects" take place every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and require at least 200 people a day to be completed. The work ranges from demolishing walls to removing mold and helping elderly residents move boxes and furnitures, Desmarais said.
The funds mark the Brooklyn Community Foundation's second grant to the Red Hook Coalition. The foundation presented $10,000 to the coalition last month, an amount that allowed it to hire Desmarais and a data analyst to track and coordinate volunteer outreach efforts.
The foundation — working with the Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce and Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz — raised $1.5 million to create the Brooklyn Recovery Fund.
For information on volunteering in Red Hook, visit RedHookVolunteers.org.
