Group originally started after Superstorm Sandy
OCNJCARE.org
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Ocean City has resurrected OCNJ CARE to provide assistance to people in need during the COVID-19 pandemic that is affecting the community.
The mission of OCNJ CARE is “To assist all those affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the related business closings, quarantines and restrictions.”
The original mission came in 2012 after Superstorm Sandy hit the area and did extension damage to the barrier island, including homes and businesses. It is a 501c(3) nonprofit organization. At that time, the CARE stood for Clean-up And Recovery Effort.”
In last week’s edition of the Sentinel, Mayor Jay Gillian said community volunteers and business leaders met March 16 to discuss relaunching the group. As he said last week, “This nonprofit organization first formed in 2012 in the aftermath of Sandy to help individuals and families who were displaced by the storm and who were in need of assistance to get back to their feet. The closing of businesses and other restrictions could have a similar effect for many in the community. I want to reassure everybody that helps is on the at for anybody who may need it.”
This week the group is up and running.
The City of Ocean City has information up and running on how to get involved with helping the organization and how to get help through OCNJ CARE.
On the group’s web site, at OCNJCARE.org, it explains how the group was formed originally after the storm, then adds, “The restrictions ordered to slow the spread of COVID-19 are creating similar hardships, and the community is coming together to help those in need.” The organization is comprised by local volunteers and members of the community in cooperation with the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce.
According to the OCNJ CARE site, it will help:
– To assist at-risk populations (including older adults) in shopping, picking up medications or traveling to locations that they have been advised to avoid.
– In cooking and delivering meals to anybody in need, including schoolchildren and older adults.
– In providing relief for families that cannot meet basic needs.
The web site has forms for people who need assistance and who want to volunteer. It also has a link to donate. Donations also can be mailed to OCNJ CARE Project, PO Box 807, Ocean City, NJ 08226.
The site directs people to call, confidentially, at (609) 399-611.
Online at the web site, there is a form for assistance that requests name, address, phone number and email, in which ward the person resides, the type of assistance needed (meal delivery, grocery delivery, medication delivery and counseling), and asks whether the person is able to pay for meals, groceries and medication.
There are contacts in all four wards of the city, led by City Council President Peter Madden. He can be contacted at peter.madden@foxroach.comor by calling (609) 513-4781.
The other ward captains and their contact information are:
- 1st Ward: Mike DeVlieger, mdevlieger@ocnj.us, (609) 231-8987;
- 2nd Ward: Keith Hartzell, khartzell@ocnj.us, (609) 289-1484
- 3rd Ward: Tony Wilson, awilson@ocnj.us, (609) 457-9978;
- 4th Ward: Bob Barr, bbarr08226@hotmail.com, (609) 703-0750.
