The Rockaway and Breezy Point neighborhoods in Queens, NYC suffered catastrophic damage during Superstorm Sandy. The Children's Festival project is inspired by the work of 14 year old Rockaway resident Ariel Creamer, who has made it her goal to bring donations and support to the children in her community. This project aims to bring these communities together and focus on the youngest survivors, while jumpstarting the local economy and helping support the rebuilding efforts still to come.
Superstorm Sandy swept through the Northeastern Seaboard on October 30, 2012 and left a swath of devastation, the scope of which has never been seen before. Rockaway and Breezy Point are just two of many communities that are struggling to recover. Local businesses are still closed, houses unlivable, and lives disrupted. Two schools (PS 114 and Scholars Academy) received structural damage and have hundreds of students where home is no longer a safe haven. These children need a Silver Lining.
This project is the idea of teen Rockaway resident, Ariel, who started Survivors Silver Lining, a project that replaces the prized possessions of kids/teens that were lost in the storm. She has designed the Festival to bring the community together and celebrate each other in what feels to many like a hopeless time. Donations will go to local businesses to perform, feed, and staff the festival and to pay for summer camps/childcare to support financially struggling parents.
This festival is integral to the support of Rockaways' youngest Sandy survivors. While the majority of recovery programs in NYC are focused on adults, this project creates scholarships for summer programs that will give these children something to look forward to and allow parents to focus on rebuilding. Art therapy and other enrichment programs at the festival will help them to view their futures in a more positive light, and the festival will bring needed revenue to local small businesses.
