How New Jersey Came Together To Support Hurricane Katrina's Children

It was on Aug. 29, 2005, when Category 4 Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, causing over $120 billion in damages, demolishing over 100,000 homes, and killing over 1,800 people.

Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

It was surreal.

I was on vacation in Martha’s Vineyard, sitting around talking with friends about the devastation. My friends and I happened to have a 501(c)3 non-profit called The Rock and Roll Music Fund. Sitting around, we thought of the homeless children who would be affected by the devastation. It was there that we put together a plan that made me and my friends so immensely proud to be part of the fabric of New Jersey.

Big Joe Henry

We decided that we needed to bring Christmas and Santa Claus to those who would not have the means to celebrate the holiday.

I called New Jersey 101.5 from vacation and talked to my big boss, Andy Santoro, Promotions Director Ray Handel, and Program Director Eric Johnson. They got on it and supported the idea.

We wanted to do a toy drive and my live radio show from 5 or 6 malls and then hope to collect 6,000 toys.

My friend, musician Pat Guadagno, took care of the planning on where to go, working with Gulf Coast charity organizations and locations for distribution.

Grace Cangemi managed the volunteers and show coordination, along with toy separation by age and gender. It was a huge undertaking.

Linc Davis made a Santa Land backdrop that rivaled most Santa Land setups. It was amazing, all hand-painted.

Kevin Feehan worked on transportation for the toys.

John made a Santa Land and a Santa chair that was better than Macy’s, and he brought a snow machine, along with Brian McKee’s portable A/C unit; it felt and looked like the North Pole.

Big Joe Henry

The look on these children’s faces when coming up to see me as Santa was so heartwarming.

My tailor, Michael Duru Tailors, made a world-class Santa Suit for me. It was such a great suit.

Lowes stepped up and gave us boxes for the toys.

Hess donated gas for the trucks and the tour bus.

My friends Doug and Denis Gallagher from Coast Cities donated a tour bus and trailer, along with a driver to take me and a couple of volunteers to the Gulf Coast.

Big Joe Henry

New Jersey 101.5’s Tyrone Johnson and his brother drove the Big Yellow van with broadcast equipment behind the tour bus. Tyrone also engineered my last day broadcast from New Orleans.

Brian McKee brought his Santa suit and for additional simultaneous stops.

United flew our staff and volunteers down to New Orleans.

We had many volunteers who took time off from work to make this happen.

Through 5 or 6 Jersey mall live broadcasts of my show, we collected over 80,000 toys, which was far more than the 6,000 we were hoping for, all donated from the people of New Jersey. Other acts of kindness came from Jerseyans who wrote checks and gave us cash to give to those affected by the devastation.

The New Jersey State Police and the Long Branch Police gave us an escort to the state line on the way down. Pat Joyce, a retired Long Branch police Lieutenant, called and worked with the New Orleans police, who welcomed us with open arms.

Kevin Martin, the owner of the Celtic Cottage, threw us a going-away party at his Long Branch bar. It was great.

Powerhouse Signs made incredible signs and wrapped the tour bus.

The actual trip was filled with efficiency, happy children, and tears.

It was a tremendous success. Over 4,000 children saw me as Santa, and every toy was distributed to every charity outlet. It was non-stop work for our volunteers and New Jersey 101.5

The entire project was supported and implemented by New Jersey residents. All stepping up to bring a little holiday cheer to those affected by such devastation. Traveling around the Gulf Coast, I was in shock at the amount of damage.

The thought of these poor people losing everything was gut-wrenching. At least we brought a little happiness to the children of the Gulf Coast, all because of the challenging work and donations of the people of New Jersey. It makes me immensely proud to live in a state that steps up. Thank you, New Jersey.