The Real Volunteers 04-26-13

7/30/2019 The Real Volunteers 04-26-13

1/12

By Steve Major Page 1 of 12 04/03/13

Introduction

Discover the life of the other side volunteerism in this real life drama on the JerseyShore. Waves of visiting volunteers as well as the full time local volunteers fightto help the disabled, elderly and those without flood insurance or huge shortfalls in

insurance coverages, etc. to recover from Superstorm Sandy. Each week you willfollow from 1 to 3 projects as even nearly 5 months after the storm, families arestill, if not more than ever in dire need for assistance. Assessments are made,volunteer groups are paired with homes and rebuilding projects, materials areestimated and purchased with donated funds, people helping people, the joy ofgiving, incredible gratitude and a few tears too.

We will take you inside the life of volunteers from religious groups, college springbreak, military groups, etc. as they come from across the country and around the

world to lend a hand to those in need!

Get ready for more interesting, adventurous, dramatic and novel stories thanExtreme Makeover Home Edition and more bitchiness, backstabbing and deceitthan the Real Housewives!

If this show gets picked up and is widely viewed, it will certainly help to generate tens of millions of dollars in additionadonations to victims of hurricane Sandy. Therefore anything each of us does to help get this show get to air will be an acof compassion for the suffering that is an everyday reality. This is not just great entertainment!


2/12


Background

Im a construction management consultant / engineer and have been a carpenter, aerospace machinist, etc.This skill set has proven to be very useful in disaster events. I pulled bodies from the rubble in the 1999Izmit, Turkey and the 2010 Port-au-Prince, Haiti earthquakes on 1 week solo trips to give aid. AfterSandy hit, I left Phoenix and went with the mostly military vet volunteer group Team Rubicon toRockaway, NY for 8 days where I was made FOB Hopes Operations Manager, I spent the following 10days back in Phoenix creating iReports and getting a series of sinkholes into the NYT and other news

outlets.

I then joined the non-profit group the Coalition of Hope based out of California as their DirectorDisaster Response Unit and returned to Rockaway for another 10 days primarily working on large scaledonated food and supplies distribution and on the issue of mold remediation on the macro scale.

I continued working on the mold issue full time when I returned to Phoenix again for a month and then Iaccepted an expenses paid volunteer position with Portlight Strategies based out of South Carolina, quitmy job and semi-permanently moved to the Seaside Heights, NJ area. Portlight focuses on helping thedisabled to rebuild from Sandy including donating wheelchairs, power scooters, hospital beds, etc. as wellas on the construction side of things including rebuilding washed away wheelchair ramps, rebuildinghomes, getting appliances donated, etc. using donated funds from The Robin Hood Foundation, etc. and

volunteers from many groups and from many regions and backgrounds.

I came up with the concept for this show with the idea that I would be 100% behind the scenes, that theshow would be novel, interesting, informative and dramatic and that this show will have many benefitsfor the victims of Sandy.

I truly believe that creating the concept for this show will be the single biggest contribution that I as asingle individual could possibly make which is the reason for my passion behind it!

Concept

The life of volunteerism is one that is largely unfamiliar to most people. This show will take you on a

journey of discovery for a glimpse of the life of such selfless heroes as they come in waves from aroundthe region and around the world to reach out and give aid to those most in need after such devastation.

Some are skilled carpenters, some can design the re-builds, and some are here just to add some eagerunskilled labor to the effort. You will see people that were displaced by the storm damage to their homesthat are still living in FEMA paid temporary housing in hopes that FEMA, flood insurance, the Red Crossor perhaps some volunteer group will step in to help before the FEMA funds run out and their homes arestill unlivable leaving them homeless. Add to this drama the fact that we primarily focus on groupshelping the disabled and will be highlighting the tremendously more difficult process it is for the disabledto overcome so many more obstacles than the average Joe.

The Real Volunteers (TRV) will also bring national awareness to certain political issues. Like the issue

that those in wheelchairs that raise their homes to the new FEMA flood zone based maps like otherpeople, they then have to spend $30k on an elevator to get up the 8' to their doorstep and even that wouldleave them with only one fire escape. Another issue might be

The show will also shed light on the entire obscure process of NPO's and fundraising. The grant writing,donated funds budgets, stipend checks, profiteering, and abuse of donated funds, etc will all be brought tolight on the show.

Profiteering and abuse on the construction side of things is RAMPANT as well and is certain to adddrama and interest to the show!


3/12


The spin-off to the show will be Volunteer Wars because there is so much ridiculous fighting betweensome volunteers over who gets to help who and who took credit for who's work. It really is crazy andcannot be missed!

My role (if any)

I see myself as being 100% behind the scenes. The show is happening Now in the Jersey Shore area andup in NY as well. I could guide the producers from house project to project getting to know the disabledpeople being helped and setting up those interviews to get the back stories, set up meetings with thehundreds and hundreds of volunteer groups. As there are particularly dramatic events like the donation ofa replacement power scooter to a 90 yr old doll of a sweet lady, I would keep the producers informed. Iwill take the producers into mold covered basements and crawl spaces, to town hall meetings, to houseraising seminars, etc.

Sample episode

Scene 1 (day 1)

Meet Richie in Toms River, NJ. He tells The Real Volunteers (TRV) host that he had been a New Jersey

Police SWAT Team member before his accident 19 years ago and worked for the corrections departmentsince he was left as a low level quadriplegic. He is known as a good spirited, fun loving deep sea fishinglover.

His home in Toms River, NJ had over 2 feet of hurricane Sandy flood waters inside it and his expansivedeck as well as therapeutic hot tub were washed completely away in the storm as well. Along with losinghis rear deck, he also lost 2 of his wheelchair ramps and therefore he also lost his only means of escape inthe event that a fire is near his front door. Since the storm his close friends and family have told us thatRichie is more depressed now than at any other time in the past 17 years. Richie explained to us that hisstress about not having a fire is affecting his sleep.

Since the storm he has had assistance from his friends as well as former co-workers from the NJPD but

even now, over 5 months after the storm, as you can see, he is still in need of a great deal of help.

While we are meeting Richie, we also met this Americorps volunteer group visiting from Washingtonstate on one month rotations. We watch as they are installing insulation and a plastic vapor barrier on theexterior walls as Richie was having a real difficulty keeping his body temperature regulated. Richieexplained that this was truly urgent to him since his sweat gland system stopped functioning from hisparalysis which makes maintaining a more consistent temperature throughout the house extremelyimportant.


4/12


The Real Volunteers of NJ show has a materials only budget of $45,000 and is going to help to projectmanage his home to completion coordinating work as volunteer groups come from around the country to

each chip in and donate their time and hard labor to help.

Scene 2 (day 5)

The host introduces us to Faith in the Lower East Side of Manhattan whose upper floor apartmentweathered Sandy well with only a power outage for 4 days due to the 3 feet of inundation on her block.Faith was referred to Lori, a volunteer case worker working from her home in CT on behalf of a non-profit group based in SC called Portlight Strategies by the Red Cross who were unable to help her.Portlight whose motto is Meeting the specific needs of the underserved, unserved and forgotten peoplespecializes in helping the disabled to recover from Sandy in replacing lost and damaged durable medicalequipment like wheelchairs, power scooters, staircase lifts, etc. The host delivers the new donated chairto Faith which immediately brings her to joyful tears. She illustrates to the host how her chairs tireswere completely down to the metal rims in some spots and the push bar was just hanging on by onescrew. Then she explains how months prior to the storm, she had been in her wheelchair as this tree (sheshows us the stump) fell onto her and the payphone she was using and how you could still see her bloodstain in the sidewalk. She explains that the only reason she is telling us about the level of her suffering isto illustrate to us the depth of her gratitude.


5/12


She then pulled out these caps that she had knitted and said that she wanted to be able to give somethingback to help some other victim of Sandy as the cold of winter was setting in.

Scene 3 (day 8)

A volunteer group called Bona Responds whose stated purpose is to help others through volunteeringarrives from St. Bonaventure University all the way from southwestern NY state with a crew of 6 thatspecialize in wheelchair ramp building. The host discusses the need for Richie to have a replacement fireegress ramp and shows the crew Richies framed aerial picture of his home and washed away deck. Theymake a plan for the design that will best suit Richies needs and get started building it utilizing building

materials donated to Richie by Portlight through its $125,000 grant from the Robin Hood Foundation.

The host then takes us back inside to meet a group of 21 students from Slippery Rock University all theway from eastern Pa. These students are young and unskilled (relatively) but eager and happy to donatetheir spring break to the citizens of Sandy struck victims here in NJ. Portlight provided this group withskilled supervision, tools and materials to begin framing the bedroom and bathroom walls according tothe new design plans that the TRV designers have created to make Richies home much more wheelchairaccessible than it was prior to the devastating storm. The host describes how Richies therapeutic Jacuzzitub was washed away and that between his insurance settlement, FEMA and the TRV budget, there wasnot enough money to attempt to rebuild his deck as it was.


6/12


The Richie and the host discuss the issue of whether or not Richie plans to elevate his home by 4additional feet and how he should not consider rebuilding any permanent decks until the new FEMA

Advisory Base Flood Elevations (ABFEs) maps are finalized (which could easily take 2 years!) andperhaps more importantly, the Toms River building department adopts their final (at least until the nextbig storm) flood elevations.

Cut to a video clip of gov. Christie discussing the new flood maps. Cut back to Richies home.

We look at the existing 25 long wheelchair ramp to his front entrance and discuss how an additional 48of home raising to meet the newly revised but still preliminary FEMA flood advisory maps would meanan additional 48 added to his ramp making it a 73 long ramp plus an additional 5 for every turnaroundlanding as this ramp would have to zigzag its way back and forth for 73. The host proposes a design idea

that Richies home could be lifted including raising his garage to be on the same level as the home (hecurrently has a steep winding ramp in his garage as well.) and explain how we will build a concrete ramp

and elevated floor for his garage and how he will then gain back so much space currently consumed bythe wheelchair ramp in his garage. We then discuss the issue that with the home being raised from 2-1/2off the ground up to 6-1//2 off the ground that ramps would bee too long to be feasible but that TRV and

Portlight had a plan. They found a supplier of VPLs (Vertical Platform Lifts) (open air, less expensiveelevators) willing to donate a substantial portion of the costs for 2 VPLs for Richie that Richiesinsurance settlement could cover the balance of the costs. One VPL would be installed at the frontentrance (along with a staircase) and another at the rear of the home to later replace the temporary ramp.We also explain that this portion of the rebuilding could take a long time dependent entirely on FEMAand the local building dept., thus the need for the temporary ramp that Bona is building.


7/12


Cut to a video clip of a town meeting where they are discussing the issue of how so many people hit bySandy are unable to cover the costs of rebuilding and are forced to walk away from their mortgages.

Richie and the host raise the issue that those that are disabled had additional losses such as wheelchairs,ramps and power scooters lost to the storm and that they also have additional expenses to rebuild such as

the increased cost of building materials specialized for the disabled (special cabinetry, grab bars, ramps,etc.), the huge cost of installing elevators or VPLs, etc. and how this could almost be seen as forcedeviction into foreclosure for a hugely disproportionate number of disabled homeowners.

Scene 4 (day 10)

Richie is all smiles as he rolls up his new ramp and explains how with even this modest deck (comparedto his old one), he was so grateful to have not only the convenience of another exit so he doesnt have towheel all the way around his home to get to the back yard, but also a hugely important fire egress. He isalso delighted to have a place to BBQ as well. Warm goodbyes are said to the volunteers at Bona as theyhead home with happy hearts seeing the results of their labors in Richies eyes.

Scene 5 (day 15)

Meet Lu. Her home escaped the flood water surge by just inches. Her power scooter that the whole townknows her so well for using to get her to the local grocery store, beauty parlor, etc. was however floodedand was not working. Again, we follow as Portlight and our host delivers this donated scooter giving thisincredible adorable 90 year young lady her mobility back.

Scene 6 (day 15)


8/12


We are introduced to Denise who had her wheelchair ramp donated built by Portlight and Bona Respondsjust before they did Richies. Portlight, some other volunteers that Denise has had helping out as well asa group called Paying It Forward in process of being founded by a woman named Gina have all beenpitching in to help Denise, her mother and her disabled father get back into their home as soon aspossible. The host speaks quietly into the camera and describes the back story about Gina as she pulls upoutside. It turns out that while Gina was working quite closely at one point with Portlight, therelationship has taken a sudden turn. Each time that Portlight posted a photo of volunteer progress that ithad donated materials to and coordinated volunteer groups for, Gina commented and commented in a waythat made it sound as if they were her volunteers and her efforts helping Denise. This (after with many

similar situations in recent weeks) upset Lori and Portlight eliciting such statements as shes not going toget away with taking credit for our volunteers work and our materials donations! As Gina walked into the house obviously making every effort to not make eye contact with anyone from Portlight, weexplained to Denise that there seems to be some weird Volunteer Wars kind of attitudes here and assuredher that TRV and Portlight are only there to add value to her rebuilding and that whatever Ginacontributes is welcomed too but that it seems that Gina is looking to play games in the backgroundfighting for her territory more concerned about her image than Denises home.

Scene 7 (day 20)


9/12


Meet Jonathan aka Wheels, 19 in Belmar, NJ. He has severe Cerebral Palsy and had to virtually bellycrawl up the 4 stairs dragging his wheelchair over himself, then dragging himself back up into his chair inorder to simply enter his own home when we met him over 5 months after the storm.

We followed Portlight and AmeriCares as well as Vince Sciacca to Wheels and his also disabledmothers home. Vince is another disabled Sandy victim that Portlight and AmeriCares have been helpingwith a similar ramp, building materials, a replacement power scooter, etc., who is himself an architect andhas been donating his time end expertise to pay it forward so to speak in not just being a Sandy victim,but also a volunteer / donor. Vince came along with his friend Jeff and his construction crew to install the

ramp which was greatly appreciated by all parties.

Wheels rolled over to the bottom of the ramp with all of us including his mother who was already in tearswatching. He said he was going to give Us a standing ovation to show his immense gratitude which mostof us had no idea he was even capable of doing. He did so blowing our minds a bit in an amazinglydramatic moment. Then Jonathan sat back down and said watch this as he cruised right up and down theramp like it was nothing in his chair even pulling wheelies all the way down. But then for an encore, hesomehow walked all the way up and back down the ramp smiling proudly the whole way using the handrails as if they were the very similar ones at his rehab clinic... Many involved later agreed that thisincredibly joyful and thankful moment could only be second to watching Christopher Reeve trying to takehis first step.

We also learn of possible delays in the delivery of a new custom fit wheelchair for Jonathan that seems tohave a quite dramatic story behind with lies, withdrawn promises, cover-ups, the possible intent by someto use the disabled solely for the PR and attention. etc. We hear of problems with employee firings /quittings at Portlight causing concern all around and which all seems to be the center of this senselessdrama in the midst of this wonderful human moment.

Scene 8 (day 25)

Completion of Richies home is still in progress now but we wrap up the show by thanking all volunteersand sources of donated funds and materials. The host explains that these issues are being faced bythousands of people even today, over 5 months after the storm and that it could take years to completelyrebuild, raise homes, and to get back to a sense of normalcy. This is followed by instructions on links to

donating to different groups including show sponsors.

End of episode

Benefits of the show

1. The awareness of the ongoing struggles that this show will bring is certain to increase donationsacross the country to groups ranging from the Red Cross to the show itself by tens of millions ofdollars!


10/12


2. The show will illustrate issues being faced therefore giving people a much louder voice inadvocating the issues on the ground here. For ex:

a. The disabled have to buy elevators when they raise their homesb. Mold, the severity, the long term issues of not remediating fully prior to rebuildingc. People are walking away from their homes due to the added burdens of raising their

homesd. Using construction methods and materials that will better withstand future weather events

rather than rebuilding in exactly the same vulnerable way.

e. New, inexperienced FEMA employees are given bonuses for reporting cases of fraudwhich creates an environment of filing reports too easily putting those already sufferinginto a position of defending a false fraud claim to the state.

f. People buying flooded out homes with the promises of readily available low interestloans and grants only to find out that bureaucracy leaves them with a broken home and noway to repair it.

g. The population of undocumented immigrants had no renters, homeowners or otherinsurance and FEMA also does not help them. This segment of the population has beencompletely under assisted.

Summary

I believe that in my experiences in Sandy recovery efforts in NY and NJ with so many different volunteergroups, in being involved in hands-on volunteering, volunteer and project management, the grant writingprocess, budgeting, volunteers stipends, volunteer work and medical equipment donations specifically tohelp the disabled, etc., put me in the perfect position to assist the shows producers in setting up anincredible number of amazing stories that are going on every single day in the life of the Real Volunteer!

Out of the tens of thousands of volunteers for this disaster relief, I have been but one. I have zero desireto be in front of the camera, especially not any more than that same natural ratio. This show could getstarted by anyone and be related to the groups I have been working with, or not. Therefore, I quitepossibly stand nothing at all to gain by creating and promoting this show concept. I do however feel thatI would be the absolutely ideal person to be in that assisting role in finding and creating the mostinteresting stories to follow, highlight, call attention to, follow up on, etc.

This is like a home rebuilding reality show PLUS the drama of:

The disabled families' stories of incredible suffering and financial difficulties The inside look at fund raising, NPO's, etc. The inside look at the volunteer's life and the touching friendships built in just days The inside look at the Volunteer Wars amazingly (as they only detract from the efforts to help

people, which is the reason we are all here) going on every single day

A potential outbreak of toxic mold as the spring temperatures raise which increases the moldgrowth rate

How Facebook has become the integral tool for disaster management communicationI believe that I have some great sponsor and funding ideas as well.

Show spin-offs

1. The Real Volunteers of the Jersey Shore (or of NJ)2. The Real Volunteers of NY (or Rockaway, Staten, Cony & Long)3. The Real VolunteersInternational edition4. Volunteer Wars

Contact info


11/12


Steve [email protected]

Links

Jonathan gets mobility back:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI-J90A6MVo&feature=youtube_gdata

A still to this day ongoing sinkhole issue in Rockaway, NY:http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/sinkholes-in-far-rockaway-caused-by-storm-damaged-pipes-city-says.html?_r=0

An iReport on the sinkholes:http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-883027

If this show gets picked up and is widely viewed, it will certainly help to generate tens of millions ofdollars in additional donations to victims of hurricane Sandy. Therefore anything each of us does to help

get this show get to air will be an act of compassion for the suffering that is an everyday reality. This isnot just great entertainment!
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI-J90A6MVo&feature=youtube_gdatahttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI-J90A6MVo&feature=youtube_gdatahttp://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/sinkholes-in-far-rockaway-caused-by-storm-damaged-pipes-city-says.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/sinkholes-in-far-rockaway-caused-by-storm-damaged-pipes-city-says.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/sinkholes-in-far-rockaway-caused-by-storm-damaged-pipes-city-says.html?_r=0http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-883027http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-883027http://ireport.cnn.com/docs/DOC-883027http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/sinkholes-in-far-rockaway-caused-by-storm-damaged-pipes-city-says.html?_r=0http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/23/nyregion/sinkholes-in-far-rockaway-caused-by-storm-damaged-pipes-city-says.html?_r=0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hI-J90A6MVo&feature=youtube_gdatamailto:[email protected]


12/12


Date post:	14-Apr-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	queenscrapper
View:	213 times
Download:	0 times

The Real Volunteers 04-26-13

Documents