Photo Credit: Virgin Media apprentices at the Brathay Apprentice Challenge by Apprenticeships.

The Commons team wants to acknowledge efforts made throughout the CUNY community to come together in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, from helping to prepare shelters for the imminent storm, to spreading information and resources through various social media channels. We would like to further extend these efforts and help connect members of the CUNY community – wherever you may be.

The devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy was unprecedented and broke many records, but if there’s something positive to take away it’s how quickly folks throughout the region have come together to help one another. While I’m fortunate enough to write this post from the comfort of my home in Brooklyn, I realize that many of you may be reading this from a computer at your family member’s house or a hotel. Now that most campuses are back up and running, we’ve put together some resources shared from others across CUNY to help makes these challenging times a little easier.

Brooklyn College’s Share-a-Ride Web App
Earlier today, the Commons email account received a message about a ride sharing application created by Brooklyn College.  The web application allows people to enter a ride offer and for others to search offers by campus destination, zip code, time of day, etc.  If you haven’t braved the buses because of pictures you’ve seen of commuters waiting in line for 1-3 hours, you may want to consider using the web app below to find a car pool offer (there are currently over 100 postings):

• Create your carpool offer: http://cuny.is/createcarpooloffer
•  Search existing carpool offers: http://cuny.is/carpool

CUNY Work/Life Program
CUNY has contracted employee support services that can be reached by phone 24 hours a day at 1-800-833-8707. Services and resources for those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy are also available on the web at: http://www.cuny.edu/worklife.

*Update – 11/4/12*
CUNY recently added some additional resources and services for the CUNY community to their website. These include university resources, community resources, and outside agencies offering support and services to students, faculty, and staff dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

Additional Resources
If you or someone you know needs assistance in the coming days, resources can be found at the FEMA, the American Red Cross Greater New York Region, and NYC311 websites.  Additionally, the New York City Office of Emergency Management website is a good place to obtain current information about recovery efforts, status of transit/transportation and electricity, amongst other information.

Open Lines of Communication
With many mobile networks still down, we’d like to make it easier for those who need help to be able to communicate with those who can provide help. To that end, we encourage you all to leave comments below – whatever they may be. Whether you want to vent about the tree that fell on your car, check-in to tell everyone that you’re alright, or find out if your colleague who lives in Hoboken is OK, please know that the Commons team and the CUNY community is here to listen and help.

If you have any resources or information you would like to add to this post please leave a comment below or contact the community team at commons@gc.cuny.edu.