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This chapter discusses the washed-up plastic Christmas tree at the corner of Jersey Avenue and Shore Road which became a national icon representing “Jersey Strong.” It narrates how James Butler used social media as so many did in those weeks following the storm: to connect, to process, to help, and to grieve. What followed over the next two hours were nearly two dozen separate posts, a series of discrete observations and reflections from his night of helping families sift through their lives. The chapter emphasizes that the Union Beach Hope Tree became a symbol of the Sandy recovery. Butler's efforts emerged as part of a coalescing network of individual homeowners, volunteer coordinators, and relief workers coming together to respond to the immediate needs of Bayshore residents. Filling the gaps in the official recovery efforts, the chapter stresses that the informal infrastructure mitigated the effects of the storm for the most vulnerable and formed a critical support base at ground zero of Sandy's destructive path. In what seemed to so many like a profound vacuum of leadership, this collaborative spirit of voluntarism forged deep and lasting connections. |
