Lifelong Oakdale resident Kathy Shepherd set up a Hurricane Sandy Fund at Valley First Credit Union in Oakdale to directly benefit East Coast residents struggling in the super storm’s aftermath.

Shepherd’s husband, Philip, is a PG&E lineman and was dispatched to New York with the first group of 150 workers sent out, along with fellow Oakdale resident and lineman Danny Trujillo. Shepherd reported that her husband is currently working in Brooklyn, New York and said that there is “sadness all over.” She said that her husband will distribute the money directly.

“Could you imagine if it’s $500 you need and someone walked up to you and gave you five $100 bills?” Shepherd said.

She added that she likes the idea of money going from one hand to another without going through an agency because you never know how much of your donation is going toward administrative costs versus what’s actually going to the victims.

Locally Shepherd serves on the Relay For Life committee and said that people who know her know the money will go where she says it’s going.

“Ten dollars, it wouldn’t take much. It all adds up,” she said.

She added that her husband and his team have been staying about 30 miles away from the area where they’re working and it takes them nearly two hours to reach their destination due to heavy traffic congestion so new accommodations are being sought closer to the work.

For anyone interested in donating to the fund, go into the Oakdale branch of Valley First and say you want to donate to the Hurricane Sandy Fund.

For more information, contact Shepherd at (209) 988-9298.