Marisa Logosso (GAL ’93), an assistant merchandiser with Ralph Lauren Women’s Wear, has been consistently volunteering at the Ground Zero Canteen at Bowling Green since the week of September 24th.
The Canteen was set up across the street from Battery Park to serve the battalions of Army personnel, National Guardsmen, and the police mobile unit who were assigned to the rescue and clean-up operation at Ground Zero. Starting with one army tent and a couple of picnic tables, the canteen now provides hot meals, coffee, snacks, and supplies, and Logosso has been instrumental in its expansion.
“It’s an all-volunteer operation,” she says, “so they were starting at a real grass roots level and there were so many needs to be met.” After working her first shift at the site, she made a list of what was needed and started an organized campaign to seek donations of food and supplies from corporate sponsors. Her first call was to NYU President L. Jay Oliva to request a donation of industrial sized outdoor grills. “When I was a student here, I remembered all the barbecues we used to have so I figured I’d start with my alma mater, and sure enough, you guys came through.” (The NYU Office of Community Service secured the donation of the rental of two grills and a corn cooker from Aramark Food Services, NYU’s on-campus dining services provider.)
For Logosso, volunteering at the site has been a profoundly enlightening and humbling experience. “It has given me the opportunity to be proactive in a situation that can instill such an overall sense of powerlessness, and it’s about benefiting the people who are the real heroes we depend on every day. It’s important to help keep them going. It really hit home that we have no frame of reference for what these people do on a daily basis, and they appreciate everything from hanging an American flag in the canteen to serving a bowl of hot soup.”
|
|
 |
|
