Chelsea Becomes Donation Center for Storm Survivors

Volunteers deliver a sofa to the Chelsea

Local residents can use the clothing

   The Chelsea At Toms River, 1657 Silverton Road, has become a donation center for everything from clothing to furniture for local residents who lost possessions during Hurricane Sandy. 

   At least three Chelsea staffers were displaced during the storm and actually moved into the residence themselves with their families. Among them was Nathan Williams, the Chelsea's Building Services Director. 

   "The National Guard had to evacuate my family," said Williams, who spent the night at the Chelsea when the storm hit. "My wife, three daughters and my dog used a ladder to climb aboard a boat because the house was surrounded by 4 feet of water."
   Williams' family moved into the Chelsea until their power returned and the water receded, a process that took more than two weeks.
   "Our company has been very supportive," said Helen Willis, Executive Director of the Chelsea.
   Willis said they first began collecting goods for their staffers, but it became much bigger. Volunteers from another senior community, Lake Ridge, began showing up in numbers with all kinds of donations including furniture, mattresses, clothing, toys and televisions. Volunteers and Chelsea staffers organized the goods into categories, the clothing into sizes, and opened their basement to the local community so storm survivors could pick and choose things to help them get by.
   "We publicized it on Facebook and local radio stations," said Amanda Black, Community Relations Director of the Chelsea. "It just took off from there."