( CNN ) -- The entire first floor had a rust-colored ring 3 feet high where Sandy had left its mark . The damaged furniture had already been tossed , and all that was left was a concrete floor and bare walls . Our AmeriCares `` Operation Muck-Out '' team immediately got to work , ripping out the interior walls and removing the insulation until only wooden beams were standing . As the drywall crumbled in our hands , we shoveled it into trash bags in a cloud of white dust , and hauled it off to the curb . I spent most of the day dismantling the kitchen , ripping out cabinets and countertops with a crowbar . Everything was almost new -- installed only six years ago -- but had to go , because it had been soaked by Sandy . The homeowner 's 84-year-old father helped me carry out the heavier appliances . Nearly two weeks after the storm , the gas stove was still dripping wet as we lugged it to the curb . By the time we finished , the entire contents of the first floor were sitting in the street waiting to be hauled away by the heavy equipment making its way through the Rockaways section of Queens , New York . Through it all , the owner , Nick , stayed remarkably composed as complete strangers took apart his home . When we asked how he was able to able to hold it together under such trying circumstances , he shrugged off the question . The worst was over , he said ; everything he owned had already been discarded . He was channeling all of the energy he had left into the cleanup and rebuilding . Jersey Shore community gives thanks even after Sandy . Just a few blocks away , Stan -- who had never had so much as a drop of water in his basement in 40 years , until Sandy -- had just finished cleaning up flood damage with the help of another team of volunteers . He showed us how the water had risen almost to the top of the basement stairs , about 9 feet high . This Thanksgiving , my thoughts turn to Nick , Stan and the thousands of other storm victims in New York and New Jersey who are homeless this holiday season . Many are living with family members or in shelters and , if they are lucky , will be able to move back after New Year 's . They remind me how thankful I am to be part of an organization that 's making a difference for East Coast residents still dealing with power outages and putting their homes back together . The cleanup we joined in the Rockaways is just one of dozens of AmeriCares Hurricane Sandy relief projects . Every day since the storm , our relief workers have been out in the field offering help to first responders , health care providers and shelter officials . AmeriCares also has a mobile clinic traveling the streets of New York City , providing portable exam rooms for health clinics unable to treat patients due to damaged facilities . Staying afloat after Sandy . In Staten Island , where some residents have been without power for weeks , our relief workers are going door to door delivering sleeping bags to families without heat . And in Long Island , where thousands of people have been temporarily displaced , we delivered medical aid to a shelter housing hundreds of families . When our relief workers arrived , shelter officials were grappling with how to care for a large population with chronic illness . About one-third of the shelter dwellers are diabetics and the shelter had no way to safely store insulin , so we bought them a refrigerator . We also delivered wheelchairs , medical cots and 1,400 pounds of medical aid -- everything from cough and cold medicines to first aid supplies . AmeriCares has been responding to disasters all over the world for 30 years , and helping people in crisis is what we do best . But this disaster is personal for many of us because it happened in our own backyard . We are committed to see the storm victims through the recovery , just as we did in New Orleans and Mississippi after Hurricane Katrina . Not everyone can be a relief worker on the front lines of an emergency , but we can all make a difference by supporting organizations like AmeriCares that assist the survivors . For more on how you can help the victims of Superstorm Sandy go to CNN.com/impact .
AmeriCares volunteer works with Sandy victims trying to rebuild their homes and lives . Hide Caption 8 of 21 Photos:Photos: The homeowner told volunteers he was channeling his energy into cleanup and rebuilding .