Friends in Deed Takes the CommUNITY for a Walk:
Event Raises Funds for the Families of Local 9-11 Victims

by Judy Silberstein

( September 14, 2002) After a week of commemorations and memorials for the World Trade Center victims, would Larchmont-Mamaroneck folk still be interested in a community walk to benefit local families impacted on 9-11-2001? The Friends in Deed (FIND) volunteers had planned and prepared for the CommUNITY Walk, but would people show up? These were among the many thoughts weighing on the minds of the walk organizers in the days leading up to the event.

Well they didn’t all show up exactly on time, but by the start of the Second Annual CommUNITY Walk on Saturday afternoon, there were close to 500 people amassed in Memorial Park. Some came in soccer outfits, right from the fields. Others came in police, fire or emergency service uniform. There were officials from the Town of Mamaroneck, Village of Larchmont and Village of Mamaroneck, and George Latimer was there from the County Legislature. Reverend Crawford, from Larchmont Avenue Church and Rabbi Sirkman, from Larchmont Temple, represented the clergy. In the gathering were members of the families directly impacted on 9-11. They were there walking - or riding -with mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, and children. “It felt like one big extended family,” said FIND President Bob Meglio. “We definitely succeeded at our primary goal,” he said, “which was to pull the community together at this time.”

The turnout was even greater than last year, and was particularly meaningful to FIND because of the participation of many police, fire and emergency service members who provided a reminder of the major role they and their colleagues played during the World Trade Center attack and its aftermath. “They’re almost synonymous with the Trade Center,” said Meglio.

Also meaningful to FIND was support received from a number of volunteers, including a dozen teenagers from St. Augustine’s Church and the young musicians Megan Lynch and Zack Berkowitz. Lynch’s a capella, contemporary rendition of the Star Spangled Banner provided a moving reminder that the attack on the World Trade Center was a national, not just a local tragedy.

Town Supervisor Valerie O’Keefe pointed out another important aspect of the CommUNITY Walk. “This event is significant,” she noted, “because this one is not only retrospective, but it’s prospective. It’s optimistic.” All funds raised through the walk will be going towards an education fund for the 17 children of Larchmont and Mamaroneck victims of the World Trade Center attack. It will take a few weeks for the organizers to gather all the donations pledged by walkers and other sponsors, but Meglio is confident that they will be able to start education funds for each of the children who range in age from 18 months to 24 years old.

And if that is not enough, Meglio is in training for the New York City Marathon, where he will be running to raise additional revenue for the children’s education. In the next 5 weeks, he will be running around Larchmont, soliciting pledges from sponsors and practicing for the big race.

For more photos and more information on the education fund, check the FIND website.

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