Sweetening life for victims of Sandy

Community members and businesses from all walks of life pulled together on Thanksgiving eve to support a bake sale aimed at helping families still hurting in the aftermath of Sandy.

Dubbed Sugar Rush for Relief, hosted by Lutheran Elementary School, and co-organized by locals Julia Donahue and Samantha Perez, the event’s proceeds are being donated to NY Cares.

Donahue, a Sunset Park resident, is an advertising copyrighter and writer who felt inspired to help Sandy victims more thoroughly after volunteering in the Rockaways.

“After seeing so much tragedy, I just wanted to help. People are still displaced and without power,” she said. “It’s easy to forget that and just think about our Thanksgivings.”

Not sure exactly what steps to take to organize the bake sale, she put a message out on social media sites. She claims it was the great outpouring of support from strangers and friends that truly helped push her idea from thought to reality. “This is not in my wheelhouse,” Donahue said. “If so many people didn’t step in to help, I may have backed out.”

Perez, a fifth grade teacher at Lutheran Elementary, commented that NY Cares was “carefully chosen” because it was a smaller organization which the organizers believed would more efficiently help those in need.

Along with donations of baked goods from around 20 members of the community, many Bay Ridge businesses also threw their full support behind the effort. Leske’s Bakery donated pies, Yellow Hook Grille lent cash registers, and Top’s Hardware gave containers and table clothes.

Lorraine Tuccillo, principal of Lutheran Elementary, opened up the school’s cafeteria for full use while the school’s students made flyers for the sale.

The list of goods being sold was extensive. Everything from Rice Krispies Treats and brownies to apricot bars and mini apple pies were laid out on tables.

While there seemed to be no shortage of people ready to buy the treats, Donahue said that any leftovers would be donated to Good Shepherd Church’s meals-on-wheels program, as well as organizations feeding families affected by Sandy.