‘GAVE MY LIFE TO GOD’
HE PRAYER went up from every corner of Staten Island when Sandy stormed in:
“God, if you get me through this hurricane, I will do anything you want.”
Most of the promises were broken before the water had even receded. But Aiman Youssef remains faithful and true.
So devoted was Youssef to helping storm sufferers that he didn’t just stop five years ago at Hurricane Sandy. Over the past few weeks, Youssef has worked 14-hour days collecting food and supplies for victims of the hurricanes that hit Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico.
“Hurricane Sandy hit me hard,” said Youssef, 48, who founded and works for the nonprofit organization Half-Table Man, which helps families affected by storms and natural disasters by providing food, clothing and basic household supplies.
“I lost everything — my business, my house, my cars and all I own. After that, I gave my life to God and said I’m going to serve the people for the rest of my life. I made the promise, and I kept going with it. I really did. I have no salary doing this. I’m just doing this for Him.”
Youssef’s humble path to service began on the unholy night of Oct. 29, 2012, when Hurricane Sandy barreled through his Midland Beach neighborhood and much of the region with a fury reserved for books of the Bible.
That day, Youssef forgot that he couldn’t swim and helped pull 16 people out of the cold, rising water that turned his street into a river.
Youssef said helping others made him feel good, and he didn’t want that feeling to go away.
“I’m not alone,” he said. “We have amazing volunteers.”
More than he knows. There were almost as many heroes after Hurricane Sandy as there were flooded homes.
Among them that day was Dylan Smith, a 23-year-old lifeguard (photo) from Queens who used his surfboard to help neighbor Michael McDonnell save six people in the rising waters in Belle Harbor.
The daring rescue earned the pair honors in People magazine, which named them among the “2012 Heroes of the Year.”
Tragically, Smith died just two months later in a surfing accident in Puerto Rico.
“I really didn’t know everything he did for people until after he passed away,” said Smith’s father, Timothy, a retired firefighter. “People came up to me and told me what he did for them.”
He said Dylan, who was planning to move to Puerto Rico, would be crushed to see how hard the island was hit by Hurricane Maria.
“It brings back bad memories,”