Fire Island Social Media Fundraising Campaign Brings Aid to an Island Devastated by Hurricane Sandy
Refusing to allow Fire Island to become forgotten in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, a grassroots fundraising effort went viral across the Internet with support by the local news website FireIsland.com.
Fire Island, New York (PRWEB) December 20, 2012
Fire Island, New York (PRWEB) December 20, 2012
Refusing to allow Fire Island to become forgotten in the wake of
Hurricane Sandy, a grassroots fundraising effort went viral across the
Internet with support by the local website FireIsland.com.
Primarily known as a summer destination, there was no Red Cross or National Guard presence on Fire Island,
like there was in other coastal areas affected by Sandy. The job of
cleanup and public safety was primarily left to the volunteer fire
departments that mobilized in short order, the largest of which is Ocean Beach Fire Department whose encompassing district covers a significant central swath of Fire Island.
“I knew that the Ocean Beach Fire
Department must be blowing through their budget on chain saws,
generator repair and fuel being used every day,” said Lauren Eckstein Forman,
founding organizer of the drive. “I tracked the homeowner association
newsletters that were circulating, and recognized an opportunity to
reach a much larger audience among renters, groupers, day trippers and
greater Long Island residents.”
However, Eckstein-Forman’s
on-line campaign to benefit OBFD hit a plateau of about $2,000 until she
aligned forces with an old high school friend Brendan Smith,
President of FireIsland.com. Coincidentally, Smith was also trying to
spread the word of this devastating storm. Smith’s FireIsland.com
network has tremendous reach with a Facebook readership over 25,500
strong, thousands of twitter followers and a Fire Island iPhone app with over 30,000 downloads. In just one week Smith managed to increase the fundraiser six-fold, raising a total of $14,318.
“I know the kind of traffic we
have and how it responds,” said Smith. “So when Lauren came to me I knew
our network would be able to raise at least $10,000 in a few days.”
Shortly after starting their
fundraising, an online petition for dune restoration began to circulate.
The petition calls local, state and U.S. Congressional elected
officials to rebuild the decimated dune system of Fire Island “as soon
as possible.”
The petition had limited reach
and was not getting enough exposure. Once again Smith and
Eckstein-Forman volunteered to take it online. Utilizing FireIsland.com
network they exceeded all expectations and secured over 24,000
signatures.
"When touring the damage on Fire
Island I was shocked to see sand dunes completely gone for miles,”
stated New York State Senator-Elect Phil Boyle, who also signed of the
petition. “Its a much more dangerous situation than we have ever seen.
Rebuilding the dunes will be top priority in my role as state senator,
we cannot afford to be unprotected from the next big storm."