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Neighbors reunite for a group picture to celebrate lives saved during the Blizzard of '22

Jeff Dorenzo, Noah Black and others take a group photo to commemorate the Blizzard of '22
Posted at 7:39 PM, Jan 14, 2023
and last updated 2023-01-14 19:39:28-05

With the city skyline as the backdrop and 10 happy faces in the foreground, it's the perfect Christmas card, just a few weeks late, thanks to the Blizzard of '22.

"He wanted something for her to remember what he did," said Krista Held of Hamburg.

Held shares a 3-year-old daughter with Jeff Dorenzo, who spent the holiday away from family because he was saving lives.

"I know what it's like to be stranded on the road with people just passing you, for like an hour, two hours like is anyone gonna help me? I've just been helping people for the past 20 years," said Dorenzo.

He was driving for Uber on Friday when he got stuck at a Tim Horton's for seven hours, unable to make it home. With the help of his neighbor, Noah Black and a friendly man with a plow, he eventually made it home.

But he didn't stay there.

"I saw all these people asking for help...that's when I called up Noah and I'm like 'Noah, do you wanna go back out and start helping people?"" said Dorenzo.

They scrolled down the Blizzard of '22 Facebook Group to find and rescue over 30 people. That included a stop at Sha'Kyra Aughtry's house, playing a role in the now viral story of how they helped Joey survive severe frostbite.

His daughter Amelia didn't understand why her dad wasn't home for the holiday, so three weeks later, he got the group back together at the rooftop of The Curtiss to take a picture to give to her.

"Hang it up for her, kind of a memory in recognition of who her father actually is," said Dorenzo.

He's even thinking about getting the story drawn up as a children's book to reach kids like Amelia all around the country.