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Posted by geri
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Sunday, 16 April 2006 |
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On September 11, a million Good Samaritans were inspired to generosity, kindness and helpfulness. In turn, we were inspired by them.
When U.S. airspace was closed on 9-11, Delta flight 15 and 52 other airplanes from all over the world were diverted to New Foundland. Under the direction of the Red Cross, the small town of Gander and surrounding communities sent convoys of school buses to ferry 10,500 stranded passengers to high schools, meeting halls, and lodges where they found cots, or mats with sleeping bags and pillows. Families were kept together. The elderly were taken to private homes. Women’s-only facilities were made available. High school kids worked to take care of the “plane people”.
Stranded passengers were offered phone calls and e-mails once a day. All were offered a choice of excursions to boat on lakes and harbors, or to visit forests. Bakeries baked fresh bread. Food was either delivered, or eateries served it up. Tokens to laundromats were offered. Every need was met. The Red Cross knew where each person was and when to shuttle them back for re-boarding.
A flight attendant recalls, “When passengers reboarded, it was like they had been on a cruise. They were swapping stories, impressing each other with who had the better time. Our flight to Atlanta looked like a party. The passengers had totally bonded and were calling each other by their first names, exchanging phone numbers and addresses.
“Then, one of our business passengers stood up and stated he would like to do something for the town of Lewisporte. He wanted to set up a trust fund under the name DELTA 15 to provide college scholarships for their high school students. He asked for donations. When the paper came back with names, phone numbers, and addresses, it totaled $14,500!”
The gentleman, who was a Virginia doctor, said he would ask Delta headquarters to donate. He promised to match each donation and start the fund’s administration.
The choreographed care the Red Cross provided for the 10,000 stranded airline travelers reportedly was a plan some 40 years old constructed in case of nuclear attack against New York City. |
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Posted by Judith Crosson
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Sunday, 16 April 2006 |
DENVER, June 23 (Reuters) - A San Francisco teen-ager who raised $18,000 by running in a road race Tuesday presented the check to one of the most seriously injured victims of the Columbine High School massacre.
Rashad Williams, 15, was so moved by the plight of Columbine student Lance Kirklin -- whom he had never met -- that he decided to run in San Francisco's annual 7.5 mile ``Bay to Breakers'' race last month in a bid to raise money for him.
Kirklin, 16, almost bled to death and had to learn to walk again after two Columbine students, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, went on the rampage on April 20, killing 13 people and wounding 23 before killing themselves.
``I'm at a loss for words right now. It's overwhelming,'' said Kirklin, who was treated at an area hospital for wounds to the face, chest, groin and thigh. He is now recuperating at home. ``It's breathtaking that someone would do this for me,'' he added.
Williams, an athlete at Archbishop Riordan High School, had expected to raise only several hundred dollars but a columnist at the San Francisco Examiner wrote about the teen and he raised $14,000. People kept giving and the fund grew to $18,000. San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown declared May 24 Rashad Williams day.
``I was tired. I just kept thinking about Lance,'' Williams said, describing what kept him going in the grueling race.
The money will be deposited in a trust fund to help pay medical bills that stand at $250,000 and are expected to grow to $1 million. Kirklin faces four more operations on his face.
Kirklin was walking out of the cafeteria at Columbine High School in Littleton with his friends Sean Graves and Dan Rohrbough when all three were shot. Rohrbough died in the attack and Graves was seriously wounded.
Surgeons initially took a bone and skin from Kirklin's leg to help rebuild the left side of his face. When he first spoke to reporters a month ago, he could not take his favorite drink, apple juice, because ``there's a hole in my face and the juice drips out.''
The Kirklin family has no health insurance and Lance's father Mike has let his small tree cutting business lapse so he can take care of his son.
Dr. Stephen Batuello called his patient a ``healing machine'' and said he expects to see Kirklin and Williams run a race together soon. ``I'll pass out after I run one block,'' quipped Kirklin, who is known for his jokes.
Copyright Reuters Limited 1999. |
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