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November 23,2001
San Jacinto Elementary School San Jacinto, California
Dear Children, I am a Red Cross Disaster Responder. That means that I go to disasters to help. Last week I went to Belle Harbor, Rockaway, Long Island, New York. A big plane had crashed there and many people died. We helped by serving hot and cold drinks to the policemen and firefighters who put out the fire and recovered the bodies. It was hot and dirty work for them. They worked in shifts all day and all night and so did we. The people in the neighborhood were very scared when the plane crashed into their backyard. There was no school that day (Veterans Day) and many were home. Some children were very little and were home with their baby sitters. The Red Cross sent out several large plastic bags filled with teddy bears that people donated to NYC. Many of the bears had tags on the with names of children from your school. We gave the teddy bears to children at the fire scene who had to sleep in a neighborhood school for 3 days until the firemen said it was safe for them to return home again. One little boy didn't want to go back into his house because he was so scared. We gave him a big soft bear. He hugged the bear and it gave him courage to go back into his house. We also gave a stuffed cat toy to a woman who was baby sitting when the plane hit. Her house was on fire. She ran out with the baby. You can imagine how scared she was! She was so happy to have something to hug! Your children did a wonderful thing sending the soft toys to New York. They bring so much comfort to so many people. Now I have to tell you about one bear. He lost the part of the tag signed by a student, so I guess he represents all of you. He is a little tan bear and he fits in the pocket of my Red Cross vest. He stayed there everyday, as I worked from 5:00AM to 7:00 PM helping at the scene. When I was tired or my arms hurt from handing out drinks and snacks, I put my hand in my pocket and he made me feel better. He was my buddy. When I packed up to go home, Buddy was still in my pocket. I have decided to make him our special friend. Whenever I go out on a disaster call, I will take Buddy. He will make me happier when I am sad and make me stronger when I am tired. I will try and take pictures of him at the sites so that you can follow his journeys. I don't have a picture of him in Rockaway, but someone who lives there gave me a bumper sticker to say "thank you". I am sending that to you. I also took a picture of Buddy in my Red Cross vest pocket. Maybe you can see Mayor Rudy Guiliani's autograph on the vest too. Thank you for the kindness you have shown to the victims of tragedy. God bless you all.
Sincerely,
Doris Wolf |
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"Buddy" |
Our friend Doris |
Buddy in Doris' Red Cross Vest |
Doris' Red Cross vest and bumper sticker |
Mayor Guiliani's Signature |
Red Cross Pins on Doris' worker vest |
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