Thursday, October 1, 2026
Monday, July 8, 3 a.m.: East Rockaway High School teachers Don Poland and Phil Linder drove to Moore, Oklahoma on a Pay it Forward mission to held the residents there who were devastated by deadly tornadoes. They drove a 14-foot U-Haul truck full of supplies and gifts for the people of Moore, and they distributed almost $13,000 worth of gift cards.
“We would like to thank all of you, and U-Haul, for being the only corporation to reach out to help us help others,” Poland wrote. The following is the mens’ Facebook posts and blog during their trip.
“How cute are the elementary school kids from Centre and Rhame! They put together about 100 drawstring bags with a swimsuit, lotion, a towel and goggles!
“Great job kids! $478.16 — it must have been great lemonade. Thank you to everyone for your generosity. So proud to say I am from East Rockaway! You ROCK!”
Tuesday, July 9
Managed to empty two-thirds of the truck today. Everyone here is so gracious for the kindness and thoughtfulness of our great community of East Rockaway. We dropped off cleaning supplies, brooms, paper towels, towels, blankets and those donated gift cards. The biggest hit was undoubtedly the backpacks created by our elementary school kids at Rhame and Centre, as well as the cards made by St. Raymond’s, Our Lady of Peace, and South Shore Camp. We will finish up our paying it forward in the next few days and be back this weekend, but as you can see there is still a lot of work to do, but Moore is starting to rebuild. Many thanks to everyone who has supported us thus far!
“Stopped in Joplin, MO for gas and got talking to Woody ... told us about the 162 people that died two years ago in a tornado. Woody said look for the area where there are no trees ... Woody was right. Over 7,000 homes were destroyed. Can’t imagine what we will see in Moore today. Reality is setting in. Joplin is starting to come back.”
Stopped by the school today to donate all the elementary books that many of you donated. Met some great people there and were able to help a bunch of them, and they put us in the right direction to help many more!
