Tuesday’s Children looks to expand

Thousands of 9/11 victims were not in the Twin Towers that tragic day. Many of them were the children who lost their parents in the terrorist attacks. Tuesday’s Children, founded just weeks after September 11, has been helping these children cope with their losses through mentoring and group activities.
According to Sara Wingerath, director of mentoring, the organization paired up one more Queens child with a mentor this past month. Wingerath believes five children from the Queens area have been provided a mentor.
Tuesday’s Children is always looking for more volunteers. According to Wingerath, there are currently 56 children in the tri-state area that are paired up with mentors. Since its inception, the organization has aided 125 children.
The non-profit organization has expanded significantly since its foundation only weeks after the September 11 attacks.
“Families and friends founded the group very shortly after 9/11,” Wingerath said. “A lot of work started right in the aftermath. Now we’ve grown even more in the last few years.”
One of the ways the program has grown is by expanding its efforts through new initiatives, such as Tuesday’s Champions. Created a year ago, Tuesday’s Champions caters to the families of the 9/11 rescue and recovery volunteers, who worked around Ground Zero immediately following the terrorist attack.
Project Common Bonds is an even more ambitious initiative, set to kick off this upcoming August. According to Wingerath, the program will unite kids from Tuesday’s Children with other children from around the world who have been affected by terrorism. These children, from countries such as England and Sierra Leone, will spend time together at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and, as Wingerath said, “Form connections there that will last their whole lives.”
The non-profit organization, which has been helping victims for nearly seven years through mentoring, fundraising, and group activities, has two upcoming events planned for June: the Westhampton Country Club Golf Classic 2008 on June 12 and the Sixth Annual Family Beach Day on June 16.
For more information on how to get involved in Tuesday’s Children, call 516- 562-9000 or e-mail info@tuesdayschildren.org.