Camp Bulldog Closing at the End of April

Almost six months to the day Lindenhurst was rocked by Hurricane Sandy, Camp Bulldog is set to close on April 28.

“It’s been a tremendous support to residents,” said Andrea Curran, who spoke with Lindenhurst Patch at the Beautification after Sandy event on Saturday.

“It’s really brought residents together,” Robin DiGiacomo also told Patch.

Camp Bulldog’s Efforts
Curran and DiGiacomo - one of Camp Bulldog’s founders - have run the effort at Shore Road Park along with the help of several other key volunteers, including Corinna Reyes, Bruce Casagrande and Jackie Milton, and countless other volunteers from Lindy, some of whom were devastated by the superstorm, and some not.

And the effort’s helped fellow numerous neighbors, friends and family who were devastated by Sandy’s record-breaking tidal surge.

“The outpouring of volunteerism has been so great. We’ve had donations and volunteers from all over. Truckloads of donations from West Virginia came in, and people from Vermont and upstate New York came in to help,” Curran said.

And as recently as Saturday volunteers from New Hampshire came to help the Beautification after Sandy effort jointly organized by the Lindenhurst Rotary and Interact Clubs and Camp Bulldog.

The Camp also worked with Long Island Harvest and Long Island Cares to help residents, and it’s been the point place for the NSLIJ Mobile Health Van on Mondays and NYLAG’s free post-Sandy legal help on Sundays. The Salvation Army was there on Fridays for a while, too.

The Lindenhurst Rotary has paid for the pods that hold donations. The Village of Lindenhurst has given Camp Bulldog use of dumpsters to hold donations, too.

Plus, the tents for volunteers and victims have been donated all along, with the latest one being an insulated one from the FDNY. Inside donated heaters have been working through the Winter.

It even received $10,000 from Long Island Medium Theresa Caputo in January, and help from hometown son Dan Lauria in December.

But now Curran and DiGiacomo feel it’s time to close Camp Bulldog.

Closing Ceremony
So on Sunday, April 28, at 3 p.m. the grassroots volunteer effort will hold a closing ceremony.

“It’s been six months, and it’s been a wonderful experience,” said Curran.

“We could go on forever, but people are starting to get back into their homes, and unfortunately despite the tremendous support, you start to lose some of that,” she said.

New Support Group
In the meantime they’ve turned their attention to helping their fellow neighbors heal the internal wounds Sandy left behind.

“We’ve started a support group on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. that meets at Harding Avenue Elementary School in Lindenhurst,” Curran explained. “It’s run by one of our volunteers, Joanne Milito.”

Milito is a Sandy victim from the Venice area of Lindy who was inspired to come and help after she saw neighbors helping neighbors after Sandy. She’s also a licensed social worker (LCSW).

“I suggested we do a group, and so we started by putting fliers in the Camp Bulldog tent and telling people they could sign up,” Milito told Patch. “We’ve taken care of the external. Now we need to take care of the internal.

Curran said the first meeting was on April 10, and there were about 15 or so who came. Those who did were a mix of Sandy victims from Lindenhurst and neighboring affected areas who signed up via CampBulldog.net.

Others could sign up for the support group on the website, too, Curran said, and they could also find out more from Camp Bulldog on Facebook at Lindenhurst after Hurricane Sandy.

Helping Seniors
DiGiacomo also said Camp Bulldog for the past four weeks has held lotteries to distribute the last of the donated funds as gift cards - save for what’s needed for taxes next year since it’s closing before it completed the long process of becoming a 501c3 non-profit organization.

Following the lotteries the Camp is also focusing on seniors who were affected by Sandy.