Greetings once again from the team at the OM@home blog, a blog about children and young people, written for children and young people . . . .
For young people just like you, about young people who inspire us here at OM HQ.
Young people like Lucy Walkowiak . . . .

For Lucy, home is Hoboken, New Jersey, this an area that has to rank among the worst affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Recent events must have been terrifying for anyone, let alone an 11-year-old. But Lucy has refused to let the superstorm dampen her spirit.

Insisting that she considers herself to be among the most fortunate in her community, Lucy has spent recent days helping those less lucky. The impact that her selfless efforts have made has been great.

Lucy’s first task was to set up what she calls a pop-up cafe on the sidewalk outside her house, enabling the hungry, wet and cold to get something to eat and drink. Next, realizing that her home still had power – unlike most in her devastated neighborhood – she created a charging station, enabling people to power up their phones and computers, and offered internet access so that those most in need could contact friends and relatives.

‘I was just happy to help,’ explains Lucy, who has been working around the clock to aid Hoboken’s most badly-affected residents. ‘I wanted to help the people without power in my community. So many people don’t have power but we were the lucky ones, we had power throughout [the storm]. I decided [it’d be good] to donate some of our power to people who had none to charge up their phones and [be able to] contact their loved ones, who might not know where they are.’

This might seem, in itself, to be a small gesture to make. That Lucy made it – in spite of everything else that was going on around her – makes her an inspiration to us all. For putting her own plight to one side, for realizing that others around her were much worse off and for doing something about it, she is a hero of the hurricane.

Here at OM HQ, where we appreciate such things more than most, we’d like to applaud Lucy, whose recent efforts have raised some much-needed funds for the Red Cross that will, in turn, help lots more people. Here’s to aiding others  . . .

We are all connected.