FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 6, 2017

Contact: Jane Lerner, Director of Strategic Communications
Office of the County Executive (845) 638-5645
lernerj@co.rockland.ny.us

Rockland Relief Supplies for Puerto Rico Delivered to National Guard

NEW CITY, NY – Rockland County Executive Ed Day has announced that four large tractor-trailer trucks containing relief supplies donated by Rockland residents for the people of Puerto Rico are on their way to the island.

"Rockland to the Rescue has been a success thanks to the amazing generosity of the people of this county,' he said. ''Many people worked together to make this mission a reality."

The trucks, donated by UPS, were loaded at the Rockland Fire Training Center and driven to the Camp Smith National Guard training site in Westchester this week. The truck delivered the last supplies from Rockland to Camp Smith on Thursday.

The pallets were unloaded at the base and will be put on cargo planes by the New York Army National Guard and flown to Puerto Rico.

The relief effort is continuing in collaboration with Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster or VOAD which is operated in partnership with the United Way of Rockland. United Way can be reached here or at http://www.uwrc.org/index.html.

"There are strong ties between Rockland County and Puerto Rico," the County Executive said. "This disaster hit home for many people in Rockland."

The County Executive announced just days after the devastating hurricane leveled Puerto Rico that Rockland would launch a relief effort.

The effort is being led by Deputy Rockland County Executive Guillermo Rosa, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and a native of Puerto Rico.

Rosa coordinated efforts with numerous Rockland County employees, including Pablo Ramos, Nick Longo, Chris Jensen, Gordon Wren and others in the Office of Fire and Emergency Service, Michael Hoblin in the Department of Health, Kathy Galione in the Youth Bureau, Jose Roman from the Household Hazardous Waste Site, Rico Vargas from Facilities, among many other people.

Over four days, the people of Rockland County donated these supplies and others:

• 84 pallets of water.
• 15 pallets of diapers.
• 6 pallets of baby wipes.
• 5 pallets of baby formula.
• 4 pallets of blankets.
• 3 pallets of health and beauty supplies (toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, toilet tissue, etc.)
• 1 pallet of batteries.
• 1 pallet of flashlights.
• 1 pallet of first aid kits.

Numerous Rockland people and organizations helped with the efforts. They included the United Way of Rockland, the Rockland VOAD and many others.

This is a partial list:

• Rockland County Hispanic Police Officer's Association
• Rockland County employees from many departments including Social Services, Law,  Fire and Emergency Services, Youth, Human Rights, Grounds and others.
• Village of Suffern
• Haverstraw Lion's Club
• Shining Star Landscaping & Construction
• Congers Fire Department
• Haverstraw and West Haverstraw fire departments
• Clarkstown Central School District and Clarkstown Teachers Association
• Nyack School District
• North Rockland School District
• Haitian American Nurses Association of Rockland County
• Numerous homeowner's associations
• RSVP
• Clean Harbors
• Dominican College
• CERT - Community Emergency Response Team
• Girl Scouts
• Rockland Immigration Coalition
• People to People

"We thank every person and every organization for their contributions and generosity," said County Executive Day. "We will continue to do all we can to help Puerto Rico recover."