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Former Island Park Resident Tries To Help Her Hometown Recover From Sandy

ISLAND PARK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) - The Long Island village of Island Park is one of many hit hard by superstorm Sandy, but they're trying to bounce back. It's not easy, though.

WCBS 880's Alex Silverman On The Story

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"I actually fainted in front of my house. Okay?" said Aileen Arroyo as she watched her children's trashed toys being carted away.

Like so many there, she said, "Every memory that we have has been gutted out."

Island Park Long Island Sandy
Inside a home in Island Park, Long Island after Sandy (credit: Alex Silverman / WCBS 880)

Cara Endriss now lives in Atlanta, but has memories of this place.

"All my formative years were spent in Island Park," she told WCBS 880 reporter Alex Silverman.

When she heard what had happened in her hometown, she said she needed to do something.

That something was a fundraiser online.

LINK: Island Park Hurricane Fund

"It went viral. People from all over the world were getting the link," she said.

She's raised $35,000 so far for a town of not quite 5,000 people.

"She presented us with a check for $1,000," Arroyo said. "A thousand dollars may seem a drop in the bucket to some people, but when you've had your home obliviated, every penny counts."

"They were crying with me, hugging me," Endriss said.

"It's a time of prespective. Cara has a very good prespective, because whatever her blessings are, she remembers what her roots are," Arroyo said. "She turned around and she said 'Let me help where I grew up' and that's a wonderful thing."

"Because there's a future of Island Park," Endriss said.

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