As Hurricane Irene hit Long Island, Jennifer Quigley spent the weekend at the helping to register hundreds of evacuees, set them up with cots, serve them meals and any other task that needed to be done.
That's not how many other 11-year-olds rode out the storm.
"I was so happy I could help," said Quigley, who is entering sixth grade next week in the Bellmore School District.
Quigley was at the center from early Saturday morning helping to with hundreds of cots and thousands of water bottles and meals.
Clipboard in hand, standing at less than five feet tall, Quigley was a red-shirted lightening bolt around the gym and lobby area, despite the humid and crowded conditions.
All the adult volunteers told her to take breaks, but said they couldn't get her to stop pitching in, even during some of the shelter faced overnight on Saturday.
"Youngest and hardest working," said fellow volunteer Jean Jannetti, the nurse on duty during the weekend.
Quigley's aunt was the shelter manager. After Quigley's babysitter's home got evacuated, she decided she wanted to help her aunt as an unofficial Red Cross volunteer.
By Sunday afternoon, Quigley sounded more like a 60-year-old than a sixth grader, talking about the pain in her knees. But her spirit was still very much in tact.
"As much as my legs kill, it was great to help," Quigley said. "I will definitely do it again."
