Two extreme athletes raised $4,000 for the children of 9/11 victims on Sunday when they finished a 75-mile trek from Long Island to the Survivor’s Tree in lower Manhattan.
Long-distance runner Eva Casale and former Air Force veteran and handcyclist Michael Roesch battled the heat and humidity as they trekked from Manhasset to Manhattan — stopping to lay wreaths along the way at various 9/11 memorials.
“Just seeing all those that were lost and keeping that in our hearts was keeping us going,” Casale said.
She and Roesch did the “Footsteps for 15” ahead of the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in memory of all the victims but also to raise funds for Tuesday’s Children, a charity for kids who lost loved ones in the attacks.
https://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svg00Jen Henriquezhttps://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svgJen Henriquez2016-08-29 13:14:092021-06-29 14:09:08Extreme athletes raise $4G for children of 9/11 victims with 75-mile trek from L.I. to NYC
https://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svg00Jen Henriquezhttps://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svgJen Henriquez2016-08-27 19:28:142021-06-29 14:09:08Manhasset 9/11 charity raises money through LI to NYC run
“Footsteps for 15” is a 18-hour endurance journey that extreme long-distance runner and Glen Cove native Eva Casale will undertake alongside former Air Force Special Operations veteran and hand-cyclist Michael Roesh all throughout the night.
“The goal is to get to the 9/11 Memorial at 9:11 in the morning tomorrow,” Casale said.
Throughout the pair’s journey, which began at the Manhasset Lakeville Fire Company, they will be showing their respect for those who died in the terrorist attacks on September 11.
https://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svg00Jen Henriquezhttps://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svgJen Henriquez2016-08-27 13:05:432021-06-29 14:09:08Endurance athletes run and cycle to support communities impacted by 9/11
RIDGEWOOD – When Joseph Palombo laces up his running shoes for the United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday, he will be participating in his first competitive race.
Joseph Palombo, left, with his brother, Thomas, at the Generosity 5K event, where they both ran for Tuesday’s Children. Joseph is running in the United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon on Sunday.
“I actually never ran too extensively in my life,” the Ridgewood resident admitted. “I’ve always played sports, but I never picked up running as a hobby.”
His decision to run 13.1 miles from Central Park to Wall Street has meaning. Palombo is a junior board member with Tuesday’s Children, a non-profit serving families who suffered loss on Sept. 11, 2001, first responders and, more recently, victims of violence and terrorism nationally and internationally. With every mile he runs, he will raise funds and awareness for the organization.
However, Palombo is one of those fateful Tuesday’s children.
“Being somebody whose father died on Sept. 11, my family and I have been helped by a lot of these organizations,” said Palombo, “where they really look out for and support and care for the families who lost a loved one that day.”
Palombo was just 12 years old when he lost his father, Frank, a firefighter who served more than 20 years with FDNY Ladder Co. 105 in Brooklyn. The now 27-year-old plans to run in the memory of the man he described as a “very caring, loving” guy and father.
“He was always happy to play with us,” said Palombo, who is the third of 10 children born to Frank and Jean Palombo. “I remember playing football in the park, and him coming to my hockey games and always giving me advice.
“It’s not that he only gave his life on Sept. 11,” he added. “I think he gave his life for people around him every day of his life.”
His father’s selflessness and devotion to others reverberates through Palombo as he uses his spare time from his job as an accountant to volunteer with Tuesday’s Children.
“I got involved in October or November because I’ve always known people involved in it,” shared Palombo. “I’ve been to a couple events, but a good friend of mine, who’s also on the junior board, invited me to go [to an event] for new members and I went. I loved it.”
Tuesday’s Children, located at Rockefeller Center, was formed in the aftermath of 9/11 in 2001. Since its inception, the recovery and response organization has expanded to accommodate international families and communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss. One of Palombo’s favorite programs is Project COMMON BOND, which was launched in 2008 to meet those needs.
“It takes people from many different countries who have been affected by terrorist attacks and it brings them all together,” said Palombo. “They have a camp together.”
The camp focuses on global leadership activities in which participants acquire peace-building and negotiation skills, as well as collaboration in music, drama, movement and sports.
“The kids who I’ve met at COMMON BOND come together and talk to each other,” said Palombo. “And they can relate to each other on a level that maybe you can’t relate to certain kids from school because they haven’t experienced what you’ve experienced.”
And Palombo understands how important it is to find kinship with others who lost a parent that day, and not just a perished 9/11 hero.
“I guess for me, my dad was always a hero before he died,” he explained. “That’s how a lot of the kids feel.”
To Palombo, seeing his 46-year-old father on the morning of 9/11 was just like any other day in their Brooklyn household. Even when his mother picked him and his siblings up at school, and said, “There was a terrorist attack on the Twin Towers, and your dad was there,” it didn’t occur to him that his father could die.
“In my mind, nothing’s going to happen to him,” recalled Palombo. “He’s probably just saving people.”
He was not fazed until his family members and neighbors were coming over his house, stricken with worry. He went to bed that night, but awoke the next morning to hear his mother tell him that “they haven’t found him yet and nobody knows where he is.”
“There was still that uncertainty I guess for a couple days,” said Palombo. “Nobody knew if he was coming home or not, or if he was just helping people to the hospital. It was such a crazy time, but I think it really hit me the next morning, after Sept. 12, that my dad’s not coming home.”
The Palombos found solace in their family, who stayed with them at the house for an entire week.
“They were feeding us, they were taking care of us and really showed me how much people loved my mom and my dad,” he said.
His father’s colleagues would also drop by regularly, cooking the family dinner and bringing over the fire truck so the kids could play on it. The constant support they received was comforting, he said.
“I knew life goes on,” said Palombo. “It was a new normal. It was always going to be different, but I still feel my dad’s presence in my life.”
The family relocated to Ridgewood in 2006, but tragedy hit once again when Jean passed away from cancer a couple years ago. Palombo continues to put one foot forward, bearing the kind of resilience Tuesday’s Children looks to impart to families with its programs. And he is more than willing to help with that.
“I try to go to as many events as I could possibly go to,” said Palombo, already having served as a mentor to kids who need help with their resumes and finding jobs at Tuesday’s Children’s LinkedIn workshops.
He is also looking ahead at future events like Kentucky Derby Day and Rise Up Downtown, a commemorative gala held during the weekend of 9/11 in downtown New York to benefit Tuesday’s Children. But on his plate right now is getting through his first half-marathon, which he will be running with three other Tuesday’s Children endurance team members. He hopes his family will be there early in the morning, cheering him on.
“I’m going to try to get them to wake up,” he said with a laugh. “They’re heavy sleepers.”
Taking after his father, Palombo has never been a big runner. But his desire to raise funds for Tuesday’s Children — Team Tuesday’s has raised $900,000 in endurance fundraising since it was founded — has made him sign up for the Berlin Marathon in September. It’s his way of giving back to organizations that helped him cope and “become who I am today,” he said.
“It’s something that I think I benefitted from,” said Palombo. “And I’m happy to, at this point in my life, let people receive what I’ve received.”
His parents would certainly be proud.
Email: oliveira@northjersey.com
https://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svg00Jen Henriquezhttps://www.tuesdayschildren.org/wp-content/uploads/TC-UPDATED-LOGO.svgJen Henriquez2016-03-18 17:37:192021-06-29 14:09:09Ridgewood resident to run half-marathon in dad’s memory
Kevin Parks has raised $50,000 this year and $200,000 overall for Tuesday’s Children. His quest is personal.
The final few miles of Sunday’s New York City Marathon are going to hurt. Kevin Parks knows that.
But the Middletown native has 50,000 good reasons to finish.
That’s how many dollars Parks raised for this race. All of it will benefit Tuesday’s Children, a New York-based recovery organization for those impacted by a traumatic loss. It was formed in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, which took place on a Tuesday.
Those attacks claimed the life of his father, Bob Parks, who worked at Cantor Fitzgerald at One World Trade Center. Kevin was 14 at the time, just starting his freshman year at Red Bank Catholic.
“Not having a chance to grow up through high school and college with my dad sort of motivated me to try to do things for other people — things I thought he could be proud of,” Kevin said.
In 2010 he called Tuesday’s Children to volunteer. He had no prior ties to the nonprofit, but knew of its mission, which expanded over the years to help not just 9/11 families and first responders, but military families and international communities affected by violence.
“I felt like it was the right time,” said the 28-year-old Parks, who works for a hedge fund in Manhattan. “I was ready to be more open, telling my story to other people. I wanted to give back to a cause, and obviously they’ve done a lot for families and individuals.”
In six years, he has raised $200,000 for his New York marathons. On Sunday he will look to break his personal-best time of 2 hours and 59 minutes, which he set in April’s Boston Marathon. That’s a fine effort over 26.2 miles for someone whose training is limited to 30-40 miles per week.
“It’s really motivating, running through the city that was affected by the event that formed the charity I’m raising money for,” he said. “It’s my favorite day of the year. I raise this money and when I start to get tired on mile 22 I’m like, ‘This is no longer about me. Suck it up and finish so you don’t have to report back embarrassing details to people who have donated to you.’”
Terry Sears, executive director of Tuesday’s Children, called Parks “a rock star.” He is co-chair of the organization’s junior board.
“He’s a very successful guy,” Sears said. “Not only has he not missed a beat despite the fact that his family was impacted by 9/11, when he lost his dad, but he’s used that as a platform to show people how much you can overcome.”
In addition to raising money, Parks mentors a 14-year-old from Monmouth County who was born just one week after his father died in the 9/11 attacks. He sees the young man, whose name is Rodney, once a month. They exchange text messages regularly.
“Tuesday’s Children, their method is long-term healing. It’s just, ‘We’re here to support,’” Parks explained. “That’s what I try to do for Rodney. We have an unfortunate and unspoken bond, but we both know we share that. If we need to go into greater detail, we can. I support him just by being there.”
