Community Corner

9/11 Responders 5K To Raise Funds For Memorial

Hauppauge widows organize walk and groundbreaking for a Nesconset memorial to honor first responders.

On April 3, nonprofit organization 911 Responders Remembered will hold a 5K Walk-A-Thon to raise money for a memorial honoring those who died after serving at Ground Zero. 

"So many children who have lost a parent or a loved one because of [Sept. 11] will at least have this park. They can feel their parents weren’t forgotten and it’s a special place for them. We are doing this for a kid, who says 'Our dad passed away cause he helped all those on 9/11'," said Hauppauge widow Eileen Ryan.

At the walk, the organization will celebrate the groundbreaking on a permanent memorial bearing the names of more than 900 first responders who died of various cancers and illnesses after serving on Sept. 11, 2011. Ryan said she believes it's the first of its kind on Long Island.  

Find out what's happening in Hauppaugewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Registration will start at 7:30 a.m. in Gibbs Pond Park in Nesconset. Participants can sign up for the walk for a donation, Ryan said, for which they are asking $9.11 per mile or whatever an individual can afford to donate to the cause. 

The 5K walk will start at the park and head north on Gibbs Pond Road to the intersection of Smithtown Boulevard, where the memorial will be constructed. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held, where Hauppauge widow Greta Helmke will speak from her experience along with local elected officals. 

Find out what's happening in Hauppaugewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Participants will then walk back to Gibbs Pond Park for a barbeque.

Ryan said she is hoping the 5K walk will raise the necessary funds to help the nonprofit reach its goal of raising $100,000 to complete the memorial. So far, more than $41,000 was raised at a fundraiser held at the Watermill in October and other private donations. 

Their goal is to finish the memorial by the 10th anniversary of the tragedy this September. 

"We have put things in motion, and I don't think we'll have problems getting it completed," Ryan said. 


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here