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Congressman Joins Students to Help Paint Sandy-Damaged Homes

By Nicholas Rizzi | June 7, 2013 2:57pm
 Rep. Michael Grimm, along with students from the city, painted Staten Island homes damaged by the Sandy.
Rep. Grimm Joins Volunteers at Sandy Damaged Homes
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OAKWOOD — Volunteers joined Rep. Michael Grimm to help paint Staten Island homes still rebuilding after Hurricane Sandy on Friday, despite soaking rains from Tropical Storm Andrea.

The CityKids Foundation along with Deloitte, an audit, financial advisory, tax and consulting firm, organized a group of about 50 volunteers, mostly from around the five boroughs and some from as far as Westchester, to paint four homes in New Dorp Beach, South Beach and Oakwood Beach.

“I think it's very important because as the news doesn't follow it anymore, people are forgetting and think that everything’s OK,” Grimm said. “Everything’s not OK, there's still a lot of work to be done.”

Grimm joined volunteers to paint the walls at a home on Adelaide Avenue in Oakwood Beach, which was completely flooded by the storm.

Kristen Connor, executive director of CityKids, said the group brought the volunteers, who ranged from 13 to 16 years old, to Staten Island to help families get back into their homes.

“We’re here to make sure that we can help other families and go back to their lives,” Connor said. “So they can empower their own families and their own community.”

Patrick Henry, a partner with Deloitte who grew up in Staten Island, said he was happy to be able to come back to his home community to help out.

“I had a lot of friends and family that were impacted so I want to come back and help,” Henry, who lives in New Jersey, said. “The chance to give back to this community, it's really cool.”

The volunteer work was part of Deloitte’s annual “Impact Day,” where employees of the company head into their local community and help out, Henry said.