September 9, 2022
"It goes back to September 11th, 2001. I'm in the city, 4 blocks away from the World Trade Center. I hear a noise that sounded like a freight train buzz, while I am on the 15th floor of my building in my office. I look out the window to see a plane high up in the air and then the plane hits the first tower, I couldn't believe it. I then head outside to see what is going on, looking at the situation from a humanitarian point of view and then from a firematic point of view." says Roger Coleman, 28 year lifetime member and former 6 year Fire Chief of the 8th Battalion, Co-Founder & President of Disaster Tech, and Founding Board Member & Chairman of Tuesday's Children.
"I was standing there looking at all of those people's lives lost, it was such a tragedy. As I am praying, I see what looks like a drunken driver flying a plane. It sweeps down towards Lady Liberty and comes up the back, swoops down again and bam, slams into the second tower. That was when I said to myself, 'holy cow, we are under attack!' I got home as soon as I could to Manhasset, got hosed off in the front lawn and took a hot shower to clean the debris from the towers off of me. I immediately then jumped into my truck and headed to the Firehouse where we had been called into the city for support. It's not my story, it's the aftermath of what 9/11 had left us with. 42 of our Manhasset neighbors never made it home, husbands and wives had lost their spouses, mothers and fathers had lost their children, children had lost one or even both of their parents, and we as a community needed to be there to support them all. We originally came together to make sure they were fed, that they felt loved, and that they knew they were not alone. Within all of us coming together to support those grieving, we realized how much bigger it was than us and we quickly realized we needed to bring in professional help. That marked the start of Tuesday's Children. We came up with the idea on a Tuesday and knew it was time that we worry about the 3,000+ children and families that were suddenly without their mom and/or dad, and the spouses who were left without their husband or wife, and that we needed to provide them with the programs, tools, and support for a lifetime of healing for the families" says Coleman.
The non-profit's Family Engagement programs enhance and sustain trust through common bonds and peer support. Tuesday's Children focuses on their commitment to Family Engagement through a wide variety of programs and services they host, such as group tickets to baseball games, picnics, trips to amusements parks, and so much more with fellow Tuesday's Children beneficiary families dealing with similar losses. These programs and events ensure a supportive environment where attendees can nurture common bonds with other families going through similar struggles. Tuesday's Children also offers a Career Resource Center, both for adults looking for careers and for children looking for help when applying to college. Tuesday's Children will help you from start to finish throughout your career preparation process from helping you write a resume to preparing for an interview. Lastly, the Mental Health & Wellness Program offers services such as (but not limited to) short-term counseling and referrals, wellness, life management and mindfulness programs, and community and mental health resources for the whole family throughout their lifelong healing process.
While Tuesday's Children takes care of the children of these families, they also offer a couple of programs specifically for adults. According to www.tuesdayschildren.org, their Heart to Heart and Gold Star Mom Retreats "brings together spouses or parents who have lost a loved one to military service to grow, heal and make life long friendships. These communities honor their losses and work together to heal. These retreats help you to navigate challenges, discover resources for healing, make connections, and recreate your lives with a sense of hope." Secondly, their Creative Insight program is dedicated to having participants reignite their purpose. This program is 9-weeks long and takes place over an initial in person event, followed by a series of virtual events. The goal for this program is to have the participants exit the workshop with a new outlook on life, leaving them to feel inspired, empowered, and motivated. (Tuesday's Children)
If you're looking to get involved with Tuesday's Children, they offer a variety of opportunities such as volunteering, becoming a mentor to the youth, joining their team, becoming a corporate partner, donating, hosting a fundraiser, and attending or participating in their various events. To learn more about how you or your company can get involved or support, visit www.tuesdayschildren.org/get-involved/.
Lastly, Tuesday's Children's Annual Rise Up for Resilience Gala will be taking place Thursday, September 22, 2022 at 6:30pm in New York City. Tickets and sponsorships are still available if you would like to attend or have your company involved. This flagship even raises critical funds to provide the resilience-building programs that Tuesday's Children offers their beneficiaries. This year's gala will be honoring Eric L. Adams (Mayor of New York City), Lieutenant General Leonard "Leo" Kosinski (J4, Director of Logistics, Join Staff, Department of Defense), and lastly, Bob Woodruff (ABC News Correspondent & Co-Founder of The Bob Woodruff Foundation).
As we all reflect on the impact the September 11th, 2001 attacks had on our country, our communities, and our lives, we encourage you to keep those who lost their lives and their families in your thoughts and prayers this weekend. Try to spread love and kindness around your community, and hug the people you love a little tighter. "Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11." - President Obama
[For a brief overview of each program, please visit the table below.]
| Program | Description |
| Family Engagement | Enhance and sustain trust through common bonds and peer support. These programs help family members find strength in community. |
| Long-Term Youth Mentoring | Encourages and supports mutually beneficial, long-standing relationships between adult role models and children ages 6-18 who have lost a military parent or sibling. |
| Career Resource Center | This program has helped prepare over 6,000 children and families for college and careers over the last two decades through in-person and virtual workshops, seminars and leadership development programs to enhance life skills, social connections, college preparation and career guidance. |
| Mental Health & Wellness | Support families with a range of life management and mental health and wellness programs, delivered in-person and virtually. Our renowned Creative Insight program, based on the distinguished Creativity in Business course at Stanford University, inspires and empowers participants to create a life they love. |
| Project COMMON BOND | Project COMMON BOND has united nearly 900 teenagers and young adults from 34 countries who have lost a loved one due to terrorism, mass violence or war. Participants learn about peace building and conflict resolution while forming lifelong bonds with their peers and engaging in activities that emphasize the dignity of all. |
| Sharing Lessons in Community Resilience | Through Tuesday's Children's evidence-based Long-Term Healing Model, they share promising practices and lessons learned in recovery and resilience with communities impacted by terrorism, military conflict or mass violence. Tuesday's Children's online toolkit offers a training curriculum and resources for providing tragedy assistance and support services to families and communities impacted by traumatic events. |
About Tuesday's Children
Tuesday’s Children provides a lifetime of healing for families who have been forever changed by terrorism, military conflict or mass violence. Through a time-tested, long-term approach, Tuesday’s Children programming serves and supports our nation’s military Families of the Fallen; builds resilience and common bonds in communities worldwide recovering from tragedies; and keeps the promise to support all those impacted by Tuesday, September 11th. To learn more about Tuesday's Children and how to get involved, visit www.tuesdayschildren.org.
About Disaster Tech
Disaster Tech, a veteran-owned public benefit company, offers data science and decision science technologies for situational awareness, operational coordination, and risk management before, during, and after disasters. Disaster Tech’s goal is to save lives, protect the environment, and build resilient communities by providing the most sophisticated, advanced analytics and distributed high-performance computing platform on the planet. Find more at https://www.disastertech.com/
Disaster Tech Media Contact
Jaclyn Silvestri
Jaclyn@disastertech.com