September 14, 2023 • 29 mins
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Birmingham announces the kickoff of “It Takes Little to be Big”. It’s a recruitment campaign aiming to recruit mentors for youth in need across the state. Jatava Burns along with Kiranda Robbins join JT to tell our listeners how they can both support the mission of BBBS and how they can participate as well.
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(00:02):
This is Viewpoint, Alabama. I'mJT. And joining me in the studio
this week from Big Brothers and BigSisters is Coranda Robbins and Jitavah Burns.
Thank you. So this the greaterBirmingham area covers not just Jefferson Shelby County,
but how many counties are in yourchapter if you will? So we're
in the well now six county area. So Jefferson, Shelby, Walker,
(00:24):
Saint Clair, Blunt and Chilton.Wow, there's a lot of areas.
Yeah. How long have you guysbeen a part of this and how long
has it been around? So forfifty years? This is actually our fiftieth
year anniversary congratulation. Thank you.How long have you been with your organization?
A little over a year and you'rethe director of marketing, Yes,
sir, okay, So what gotyou involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters.
(00:45):
What were you doing before that?Well, before this, I worked
at United Way, so I wasdoing personal care and then when I found
out about the agency, I thoughtit would be great to be able to
get back to my community. Andwhat better way than connect a chow with
a mentor that you really helped themsucceed because Sandraw did you get involved.
So I've been part of them,now, that's okay. I've been part
(01:07):
of the agency for seventeen years.I started as an intern and then I
was hired directly afterwards. Well,it takes a special heart, and you
guys obviously have it to do thiskind of work. And you know,
obviously you've been involved in you know, charity work before and nonprofit and it's
it's a different animal and nonprofit thanit is in the regular world of business.
(01:29):
I mean, no matter what yourposition is with the organization, whatever
nonprofit it is, uh, youknow, being involved in the actually street
work of what the mission is allabout really sometimes comes secondary to the big
one raising money, all right.You know I was in nonprofit for a
while with You for Christ, andI got into it for a hard for
kids to have a better relationship withChrist instead of the world. But when
(01:53):
I was brought on, they said, we want you to be the executive
director and we want you to spendtime with kids and go to the jails
and blah blah blah. I said, great. Well, about three or
four months into it, like hey, we got to get you and raise
some money. I said, whoa, whoa. I thought that was the
board's problem. Now we need youout there getting some money. I'm like,
and I didn't have you know,that wasn't my set of you know,
(02:14):
tools or whatever. So that's partof what you guys do too,
and I'm glad to have you onhere anytime you want to come by,
because the more people know about this, the more money hopefully can be raised
to help this organization continue to dowhat you guys do. So, unlike
foster care, you don't have tobring kids into your home to be a
big brother big sister, right,you don't have to adopt them. You
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just spend time with them. Sowhat's the goal. If somebody called you
today and said, I heard youguys talking about this with j T.
What what's involved? If I wantedto be a big brother, what's involved?
So the first step is just togo to our website and just sign
fill out our application. What's thewebsite BBBS, b HM dot org,
Big Brothers, Big Sisters BHM dotcom. Okay, it dot dot org
(02:59):
Yes, okay, and then Karandaactually yeah, so get them. Yeah.
So we follow up by sending youthe next steps, explaining the program
and then from there, if youget matched in our program and you go
through the process get matched. Soit's like a dating website. You can't
you can't just you can't just walkin the door. I want to be
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There's a process, absolutely, somesome background checking. Yeah, it's pretty
extensive. But we like to prideourselves. How do you how do you
match somebody with somebody? What doyou? What are you? What are
you looking for? So first ofall, location, how close are you
in proximity to the child that we'retrying to match you with, Personality,
interests, preferences, all of thatgoes into play because we're trying to make
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sure that this match or this bigand this little volunteer youth are compatible this
big in this little. It soundslike sorority talking about my big what you're
what my big sister? I'm heara little sit Okay, Yeah, So
when it happens and you get somebodyin and you think, okay, this
person has a good job, they'vegot a good fan, they're a good
background, nice person. Then whatdo they get to go to and pick
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one out of a letter? Imean, you know, how does that
work? So then after we dothe interview, we do a home visit,
so we'll check your home, goover some you know, requirements with
that, and then after that,that's when we'll contact a parent that's still
on your preferences and see if that'sgoing to be a good match. So
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do you let the kids meet theperson and then get the kid's opinion afterwards
as well, like oh I didn'treally like that person, or how does
that work? Well, so wecontact the volunteer first and just mentioned the
child and say, you know,these are some of the things that the
child maybe just about their background,their personality, everything about them that we
know that's pertinent to this match.And then if the volunteer says okay,
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yeah, that sounds good, wecontact the parent at that point and describe
the volunteer to the parent and sothey kind of talk. There's a chance
to say yes, no, maybelet me think about it. Okay,
Well interesting, Yeah, I didn'teven think that these kids have parents because
I'm automatically thinking these kids are inthe system. Oh no, no,
(05:09):
not all right? Well interesting,as I'm learning as well about big brothers
and big sisters, as you maybe as well, I had some misconceptions
about it. I did not realizethat there are parents involved in this that
and basically big brothers and big sistersis not like the I guess the foster
parenting system or the adoption system.This is about a mentorship more than anything,
(05:30):
right, absolutely, So you asa parent might say, well,
look, maybe I'm having a littletrouble getting through to tom Tommy my son
here, and you know, let'sget somebody else that's involved in his interests
that you know, can be aleader for him a little bit as well
as us as parents and get adifferent perspective and objective perspective. And also
the kid feels maybe, okay,it's not my parents, So you know,
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how does the kid get introduced tothis. So as far as them
being introduced to the idea of bigthere's the sisters. We interview the parent
and the child and explain to thechild as well, you know, this
is what your parent or caregiver issigning you up for, and so we
just kind of explain it. Wetry to break it down a little bit
like this is just like an oldersibling. This is like an older friend.
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Okay, that's just going to bethere to hang out with you and
be there to guide you and listenand just hang out and be a friend.
So parents, if you're listening,this is not about if you want
to have a big brother big sisterfor your child. It's not about bringing
somebody else in there to raise yourchild. It's not about you know,
them taking over like a nanny Wood. This is more like you know,
partner along and having a buddy thatcan give a good perspective to the big
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brothers and big sisters work with theparents on discussions and things to do,
or they just kind of left hertheir own. You know, we're going
to go to chuck e Cheese orgo bowling or something, and we'll be
back in a couple of hours.And you know, well, the volunteer
always follows up with a parent orcaregiver. Okay, I'm planning on doing
this. Is that okay? Andwe always ask that the volunteer follow up
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with the parent after making plan.What's the commitment as far as time goes?
How many how many different visits aweek to big brothers and big sisters
make with these kids, so it'sonly twice a months. That's really easy
for anybody to want to volunteer becauseyou just have to commit just two days,
different times of the day, whateverworks out us for everybody, everybody,
just like any other relations I gotyou. Are there more men or
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women involved in this? Is aboutthe same or where's that? More women?
So you need big brothers, Yes, brothers. You have about sixty
two little brothers waiting. How oldare the kids? What age group?
Seven to fifteen? Seven to fifteen? Okay, that's when they can enroll,
all right, So yeah, havingtwenty two year old need a big
brother at the point they kind ofneed to jump out on their own as
(07:42):
an adult they yeah, right,essentially, I'm sure there are other programs
out there for sure. Yeah.So once again we're right out of time.
I'm going to have you back.But where do people go if they
want to volunteer and help out withyou know, their littles. Just go
to b b BS b HM dotorg start right there or google big Brothers,
Big Sisters. I'll find out moredefinitely needed folks to help these young
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people out. Awesome, nice tomeet you guys. Thank you. This
is Viewpoint to Alabama and this pastweek we observed the twenty second anniversary of
the nine to eleven terrorist attack herewith more on. This is Ryan Gorman.
I'm joined by David Payne, presidentand co founder of nine eleven Day.
You can learn more about this tremendousorganization at nine eleven day dot org.
(08:24):
That's nine one one day dot org. David, thank you so much
for taking a few minutes to comeon the show ahead of this upcoming nine
eleven anniversary, and before we diveinto what nine eleven Day is all about,
take us back to that tragic daytwenty two years ago and tell us
about your personal experience. Yeah.I was born and raised in New York,
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and so I you know, Iknew the city intimately, and although
I had had moved to California priorto nine to eleven, you know,
I think New York was always myhometown and so when the attacks occurred,
it was devastating to me personally.You know, I had worked down there,
I had ridden the elevators on theWorld Trade Center towers. You know,
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I just knew the community so well, and so it was very personal
to me. And then on topof that, a very very good friend
of mine, Jay Winnick, whoended up becoming my co founder, lost
his brother Glenn, in the collapse. Of the World Trade Center South Tower,
and Glenn was an attorney who workedat the law firm Holland at night,
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but he was also a trained volunteerfirefighter in EMT and so, like
a lot of brave first responders,after evacuating his own building, he went
into the South Tower to rescue people. And he was in the process of
getting people out of the South Towerlobby when the building came down upon and
I had my own brother, fortunatelydid get out of the area, but
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he was right across the street andhe watched the second plane hit and he,
in the process leaving the area,witnessed people jumping from the towers.
So it was very, very closeand intimate for me in a lot of
ways. And about six months afterthe attacks, Jay and I sat down
(10:13):
together and we said, how dowe make something good come from this horrific
experience? And I think we wereboth inspired by the way the nation changed
in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, when we weren't Red states or Blue
states, we were just human beingshelping one another. And the beauty of
(10:35):
that that the awakening of our humanspirit and the innate goodness that came out
so many people you know, notjust in the United States but all around
the world. It was a phenomenonthat I had never ever experienced before in
my life, and I think Iwill personally, I just wanted to keep
that spirit of the unity alive atleast one day out of the year.
(10:56):
And I think for me and forJay, we thought that we couldn't think
of a better way to pay tributeto all the people that lost their lives
and the many heroic people that youknow that Rosen service in response to the
attacks than to sort of try totransform or or turn nine to eleven,
the anniversary of nine eleven into thatsame kind of experience that Dave doing good
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at Dave unity and kindness. Andso that's what we've done. And before
we get into more about the creationof this organization and the specific work that
you do, there are many Americansnow, including some I'm sure listening to
the show we're too young to rememberthat day who weren't born back then.
So can you step us through.I'm sure you remember it like it was
(11:41):
yesterday. I know I do.I can rehash my entire experience that day,
But what were you going through?What were you doing as all of
that unfolded twenty two years ago.Yeah, like a lot of Americans,
you know, I found out aboutthe attacks because somebody called me, right
a colleague of quick, you know, quick turn on the television set,
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and of course I didn't. ThenI never left that television set screen or
other screens for days on end,like a lot of Americans. And it
was particularly heartbreaking for me because Iwas now living three thousand miles away from
the New York area, my hometown, and I wasn't sure where my members
of my family were. I wasn'tsure if people were safe, and so
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it was very, very painful forme to observe it from afar. And
it's interesting because I know a lotof people who lived in the New York
area in DC that you weren't surewhether the rest of the country you felt
the same way as they did.And while the experience, of course for
people who were in New York,DC and elsewhere close to the attack is
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a unique, you know, onethat could never be replicated. I would
say that having you know, witnessedthe attacks from California and watching the reactions
of all my neighbors and friends here, there was no difference in that respect
which we were all stunned and shockedand horrified, and it really was a
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transformational experience for me personally, thatthat that you know, literally that was
a very first few minutes and thenin the weeks that are after, and
I just it changed my life.I just didn't want to do what I
was doing anymore. And I wasworking for a you know, a public
relations firm, and I said,you know, I don't want to.
I don't want to be promoting tacosand diapers anymore. Right, I want
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to change my life. I wantto I want to do something meaningful.
And when I saw the horror ofthat day, I just said, hey,
you know, we're going to tryto turn this stuff around. I
mean, this kind of hate thatis bred by intolerant and sort of the
perception of difference which doesn't exist.It's an illusion. You know, we're
all born the same, you know, when we all leave this plane at
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the same and everything in between isjust a thought, you know, our
different and everything. And I justI wanted to make that my life mission.
And that's what I've done, alongwith my good friend Jay. I'm
Ryan Gorman, joined by David Paynenine eleven Day president and co founder.
You can learn more at nine toeleven Day dot org. That's nine one
(14:16):
one day dot org. I'm surea lot of people across the country had
that same thought that you and Jayhad, that you wanted to take this
awful tragedy and turn it into somethingpositive. But you and Jay managed to
do it with the creation of nineto eleven Day. So you mentioned earlier
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how it initially came about, butstep us through the process of really creating
this organization and turning it into themovement that it's become, well, I
think I certainly recall it. Thevery first step that we both took was
to sit down with other nine elevenfamily members, people who had lost their
(15:00):
loved ones, because you know,it was an idea that we had,
but we didn't know whether or notit was going to be something that they
felt was appropriate for, you know, to honor their own loved ones.
And so we started having these privatemeetings one on one with many of them
still you know, deeply sort ofimmersed in their grief and despite the fact
that so many of them were suffering, you know that from this unimaginable loss.
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You know, when we started withjust a handful of people who were
even aware of it. Today agood you know, forty percent of the
country is aware that nine to elevensa day of service. We still have
a long way to go, butthere are millions of people that get out
now and observe it through through volunteering, donating to charities, giving things away,
or just trying to be a littlemore kind and considerate and helpful to
(15:50):
one another through good deed. Doingyour attempts to get this to become a
federally recognized holiday. What were someof the issues that you dealt with as
we're trying to get that accomplished.Well, I certainly learned a lot about
Washington Dctate during this period of time, because neither Jay or I hadn't really
spent any time in Washington at all. And and we were fortunate to get
(16:14):
a lobbyist in DC, a friendof ours, who just taught us a
little bit about it, you know, and helped walk the halls of Congress
with us, and we went doorto door and we just started meeting members
of Congress. And you know,I think we've both felt Jay and I
did that, you know, withthe support of the entire nine eleven community
basically behind us that the idea ofmaking done eleven the day of service would
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be a no brainer, right.I think most people listening right now are
like, why was this such aprocess? Well, I think what we
learned first and foremost was there isno such thing as a no brainer in
Washington, DC. It takes alot of time to explain it. And
you know, keep in mind toothat at that time, especially in the
first four years, we were stillvery concerned about whether we would be the
(17:00):
subject of subsequent terrorist attacks, sothere was a lot of focus more on
the protection of the country. Obviously, we had now initiated a war in
Afghanistan and subsequently in Iraq, andso the timing to sort of turn nine
to eleven into a day of doinggood to some degree as a day of
peace, it just didn't align withwhere the nation was in the first i'd
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say five four or five six years. But as as the years went on,
interestingly enough, the desire to tryto hold on to that spirit of
togetherness became more and more popular,and we found that members of Congress started
to like the idea that there shouldbe some permanent legacy. And it was
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really then you know, just beforethe change in the administration toward the end
of the Bush administration, where PresidentBush became very much a big supporter of
that. We had both Republicans andDemocrats that were joining together, and it
sort of led the way for thepassage of a legislation called the Edward M.
Kennedy Serve America Act in two thousandand nine that made September eleventh a
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day of service under federal law andsupported other national service programs as well.
I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by DavidPayne, not eleven Day president and co
founder. You can learn more atnine to eleven day dot org. That's
nine one one day dot org.So when you say it's a day of
service, what exactly does this daynow encompass? Well, nine to eleven
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days I think quite unique because it'snot just a day of volunteering. It's
honestly just a day of doing goodand that can be in any form of
person wants to express it. So, you know, kids can make their
beds and do the dishes, orhelp a sibling with their homework. People
can give something away. They canthey can make a donation to a charity
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like our charity or they can volunteerit's or they can just hold the door
open for someone be a little moreattentive to the importance of kindness in our
lives. And so we are encouragingthem to not be afraid to talk to
their children about nine to eleven,but do it in a positive way.
Talk about the goodness that came fromso many people, the way in which
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we all join together in unity.And on our website we have all these
great lesson plans, toolkits and resourcesall free for people to use and consider.
It sounds like the essence of nineto eleven day, And correct me
if I'm wrong, but it isto on this day bring back that sense
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of community and helping each other andcaring about each other that we all really
experience, like you alluded to earlierin the aftermath of the September eleventh attacks,
I think that's exactly right. Oneof the things I thought that was
so profound right after nine eleven wasthe way even members of Congress, withou
Publicans and Democrats alike, made adelivered effort to promote the importance of unity,
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and during the State of the Unionaddressed, they would sit next to
one another rather than on each sideof the aisle the way they do now,
and it was a fleeting moment,There's no doubt about it. You
know, we lost our sort ofattachment to the togetherness that really does exist
innately and all of us. Andnine to eleven Day is very much about
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celebrating and honoring that togetherness, thatspirit of compassion and unity and kindness that
lives in every single one of usevery single day. And it's a reminder
that we shouldn't need a tragedy ofnine to eleven proportions to bring us together
as Americans, that we have thatinnate unity that already lives within us every
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moment of every day, and wehave to all be careful that we don't
allow ourselves to become to or tobe divided by forces that benefit by our
division because in the end, andthis is something I learned from nine to
eleven, we are not divided aspeople. We just think we are.
It's an illusion. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by David Payne, President and
(21:15):
co founder of nine eleven Day.You can learn more at nine eleven day
dot org. That's nine one oneday dot org. Social media can be
so toxic, but you have aninitiative that really brings to like the best
that social media can offer. Tellus about your hashtag I will for nine
(21:37):
eleven day campaign? Yeah, so, quite a number of years ago,
we started noticing that in classrooms aroundthe country, teachers were getting their students
involved in planning their own kind ofgood deeds that they were going to do
with their with their classmates or withtheir parents, and then the teacher would
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hand out these little pledge cards andthe kids would write down what they were
going to do for nine to elevenand under sort of this sort of theme
of I will for nine to elevendot dot dot, and we thought,
wow, what a cool idea.So we started launching this social media campaign
where we're inviting every American who isgoing to do any kind of active kindness
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to take ten seconds to get ontothe social media page on nine to eleven
and share what they plan to do. They don't have to do it on
nine to eleven. They can justsay this is what I'm planning to do
this week or whenever they're thinking ofdoing it, and then they share it
with the hashtag I will for nineto eleven deaths And that's how we see
millions and millions of good deeds thatpeople do every year, all over the
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country, all over the world.It's just a remarkable phenomenon, and so
social media is becoming a tool forus to witness the goodness that lives in
so many Americans every day. Finalquestion for you, for those listening who
want to support the tremendous work you'redoing with nine to eleven Day, what
are some of the different ways theycan go about doing that. There are
(23:08):
a lot of ways in which peoplecan participate. Certainly, they can volunteer
on that day, and if theygo to our website at nine to eleven
Day Forward slash Volunteer, you know, we are listening quite a number of
the big, large volunteer projects thatwe're staging around the nation this year,
and there may be opportunities for individualsto sign up to participate in those events
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where we will be packing six pointfive million meals for people who are at
risk of hunger and will be ineighteen different cities, So there could be
opportunities to volunteer directly with us.But even if a person can't volunteer with
us, there are just so manyother simple good deeds that they can do
in their lives, but it doestake just a moment to stop and say,
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okay, you know what could Ido? I mean, I have
a fourteen year old son and everyyear he usually goes through his clothes at
he's outcloned and we donate them toGoodwill. So and he's an example of
a person who was born after Septembereleventh, and yet here he is,
you know, keeping the promise tonever forget by doing simple good deeds.
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So I would just say to everybody, I'm sure that you can come up
with something good you want to doon that debt, and then go ahead
and do it and share it onsocial media using the hashtag I will for
nine eleven Day. And I'll justadd another way that everyone can support this
work is by donating, and youcan do that at nine to eleven day
(24:36):
dot org. David Payne, Presidentand co founder of nine eleven Day,
David, I want to thank youso much for taking a few minutes to
come on the show, and ofcourse for all the really important work you're
doing with nine eleven Day. Wereally appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Of course, I'm Ryan Gorman hereon iHeartRadio. Communities and now want
to bring in our next guest forthis nine to eleven anniversary special. I'm
(24:57):
joined by John feel founder of thefield Good Foundation, which you can learn
more about it feel good foundation dotcom. John, it's great to talk
to you again before we spend sometime in your mission to help those who
help so many on nine to elevenand in the days, weeks and months
after the attack, tell us aboutyour personal experience on that day twenty two
(25:18):
years ago. Well one, thankyou for having me, and as we
approached the twenty second Anniverse three,I pray anybody who's suffering from that horrific
Tuesday finding comfort knowing that Americans thinkingabout it. And you know my story
tells in comparison to those who diedthat day or those who that's sick and
died out there. I'm blessed.And while I had a horrific and gruesome
(25:42):
injury and spent the eleven weeks inthe hospital and almost died, I'm blessed.
I'm able to beat a voice ofthousands, and it's a responsibility that
I take serious, and we lookforward reluctantly. We look forward to advocating
into the future as we evolved inthe nine eleven community re evolved for the
(26:04):
worst. More and more people aregoing to sick, and more and more
people are dying. And the Septembersixteen at my Park on Long Island,
we're adding three hundred and fifty ninemain heroes who died from a nine eleven
related illness in the calendar year.The struggle that you've been through trying to
(26:26):
get this healthcare to those who needit, I think most people listening would
say, why in the world wasit a struggle? Why are we hearing
words like struggle and battle and thingslike that. Why is it so difficult
to get this help? And whatare some of the things you're currently working
on that you're trying to get donemoving forward? Yeah, well, the
(26:51):
first part of that question, Ican answer for stupidity, for leadership,
lack of commitment, ideologies not ideologies, ideology, party before country. There's
a million reasons bad leadership, poorleadership, corruption, political games, kicking
the Canada, and you know,I can think up a million prisons.
(27:12):
Wiet they made its fight so hard. We were lied to on September sixteen
two as a one when they saidthey able to take the fact that they
lied to us and made us fightpass long. I'm still scratching my head
and that's probably why I'll have achip on my shoulder the rest of my
life. I've been to over twohundred feerals and it's it's it's I don't
(27:33):
know why God is doing this tome, but it's painful. That's what
we're fighting for now. You know, last year, John Stewart and I
helped get the burn Pit Bill passfor millions of veterans for three hundred billion
dollars. And now we were fightingto get the World Trade Center help program
extended. We got to catch tothe NDAA and we got part of the
(27:57):
money that we were asking for.But we're gonna have to go back and
next from more money next year,and it's is gonna be a it's going
to be an ongoing fight. ChristinoCongress as a turnover and right now there's
no legislative process in DC other thanto stay in power and and longevity.
So we have our hands full.But you know, between going to DC
(28:18):
or upset New York or New Jerseyor Michigan where nineteen to nineteen getting legislation
pass and I'm going to retire likeRocky Marciana. Well, it really is
incredible work. Now, how caneveryone listening help support that work and make
sure what needs to get done forthese heroes who serve this country on and
(28:41):
after nine eleven that whatever they needgets done and gets taken care of.
Well, I think everybody can tunein on CNN films and watching No Responses
Left Behind with John Stewart and Iin way to fight, the others went
to DC and then I let themto study what they want to do.
After that they want to send anemail and say thank you as point you.
That's good enough for me because somany people, so many people a
(29:06):
Christians whole country in every congressional districtthat went to ground zero, many of
them are fighting for their lives rightnow and it's getting worse. Well,
and I will tell everybody you cango to Feel Good Foundation dot com.
That's fea l Good Foundation dot com. You can learn more there and you
can donate to help this tremendous causeas well. John feel founder of the
(29:29):
Field Good Foundation. John, thankyou so much for the great work you're
doing. Keep fighting the good fight, and if there's anything we can do
to help, just let us know. Thank you, my friend, God
bless you, and thank you everybodyfor listening. You've been listening to Viewpoint
Alabama, a public affairs program fromthe Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed
on Viewpoint Alabama are not necessarily thoseof the staff, management, or advertisers
(29:51):
of this station.
This is Viewpoint, Alabama. I'mJT. And joining me in the studio
this week from Big Brothers and BigSisters is Coranda Robbins and Jitavah Burns.
Thank you. So this the greaterBirmingham area covers not just Jefferson Shelby County,
but how many counties are in yourchapter if you will? So we're
in the well now six county area. So Jefferson, Shelby, Walker,
(00:24):
Saint Clair, Blunt and Chilton.Wow, there's a lot of areas.
Yeah. How long have you guysbeen a part of this and how long
has it been around? So forfifty years? This is actually our fiftieth
year anniversary congratulation. Thank you.How long have you been with your organization?
A little over a year and you'rethe director of marketing, Yes,
sir, okay, So what gotyou involved with the Big Brothers Big Sisters.
(00:45):
What were you doing before that?Well, before this, I worked
at United Way, so I wasdoing personal care and then when I found
out about the agency, I thoughtit would be great to be able to
get back to my community. Andwhat better way than connect a chow with
a mentor that you really helped themsucceed because Sandraw did you get involved.
So I've been part of them,now, that's okay. I've been part
(01:07):
of the agency for seventeen years.I started as an intern and then I
was hired directly afterwards. Well,it takes a special heart, and you
guys obviously have it to do thiskind of work. And you know,
obviously you've been involved in you know, charity work before and nonprofit and it's
it's a different animal and nonprofit thanit is in the regular world of business.
(01:29):
I mean, no matter what yourposition is with the organization, whatever
nonprofit it is, uh, youknow, being involved in the actually street
work of what the mission is allabout really sometimes comes secondary to the big
one raising money, all right.You know I was in nonprofit for a
while with You for Christ, andI got into it for a hard for
kids to have a better relationship withChrist instead of the world. But when
(01:53):
I was brought on, they said, we want you to be the executive
director and we want you to spendtime with kids and go to the jails
and blah blah blah. I said, great. Well, about three or
four months into it, like hey, we got to get you and raise
some money. I said, whoa, whoa. I thought that was the
board's problem. Now we need youout there getting some money. I'm like,
and I didn't have you know,that wasn't my set of you know,
(02:14):
tools or whatever. So that's partof what you guys do too,
and I'm glad to have you onhere anytime you want to come by,
because the more people know about this, the more money hopefully can be raised
to help this organization continue to dowhat you guys do. So, unlike
foster care, you don't have tobring kids into your home to be a
big brother big sister, right,you don't have to adopt them. You
(02:34):
just spend time with them. Sowhat's the goal. If somebody called you
today and said, I heard youguys talking about this with j T.
What what's involved? If I wantedto be a big brother, what's involved?
So the first step is just togo to our website and just sign
fill out our application. What's thewebsite BBBS, b HM dot org,
Big Brothers, Big Sisters BHM dotcom. Okay, it dot dot org
(02:59):
Yes, okay, and then Karandaactually yeah, so get them. Yeah.
So we follow up by sending youthe next steps, explaining the program
and then from there, if youget matched in our program and you go
through the process get matched. Soit's like a dating website. You can't
you can't just you can't just walkin the door. I want to be
(03:20):
There's a process, absolutely, somesome background checking. Yeah, it's pretty
extensive. But we like to prideourselves. How do you how do you
match somebody with somebody? What doyou? What are you? What are
you looking for? So first ofall, location, how close are you
in proximity to the child that we'retrying to match you with, Personality,
interests, preferences, all of thatgoes into play because we're trying to make
(03:40):
sure that this match or this bigand this little volunteer youth are compatible this
big in this little. It soundslike sorority talking about my big what you're
what my big sister? I'm heara little sit Okay, Yeah, So
when it happens and you get somebodyin and you think, okay, this
person has a good job, they'vegot a good fan, they're a good
background, nice person. Then whatdo they get to go to and pick
(04:04):
one out of a letter? Imean, you know, how does that
work? So then after we dothe interview, we do a home visit,
so we'll check your home, goover some you know, requirements with
that, and then after that,that's when we'll contact a parent that's still
on your preferences and see if that'sgoing to be a good match. So
(04:25):
do you let the kids meet theperson and then get the kid's opinion afterwards
as well, like oh I didn'treally like that person, or how does
that work? Well, so wecontact the volunteer first and just mentioned the
child and say, you know,these are some of the things that the
child maybe just about their background,their personality, everything about them that we
know that's pertinent to this match.And then if the volunteer says okay,
(04:48):
yeah, that sounds good, wecontact the parent at that point and describe
the volunteer to the parent and sothey kind of talk. There's a chance
to say yes, no, maybelet me think about it. Okay,
Well interesting, Yeah, I didn'teven think that these kids have parents because
I'm automatically thinking these kids are inthe system. Oh no, no,
(05:09):
not all right? Well interesting,as I'm learning as well about big brothers
and big sisters, as you maybe as well, I had some misconceptions
about it. I did not realizethat there are parents involved in this that
and basically big brothers and big sistersis not like the I guess the foster
parenting system or the adoption system.This is about a mentorship more than anything,
(05:30):
right, absolutely, So you asa parent might say, well,
look, maybe I'm having a littletrouble getting through to tom Tommy my son
here, and you know, let'sget somebody else that's involved in his interests
that you know, can be aleader for him a little bit as well
as us as parents and get adifferent perspective and objective perspective. And also
the kid feels maybe, okay,it's not my parents, So you know,
(05:53):
how does the kid get introduced tothis. So as far as them
being introduced to the idea of bigthere's the sisters. We interview the parent
and the child and explain to thechild as well, you know, this
is what your parent or caregiver issigning you up for, and so we
just kind of explain it. Wetry to break it down a little bit
like this is just like an oldersibling. This is like an older friend.
(06:15):
Okay, that's just going to bethere to hang out with you and
be there to guide you and listenand just hang out and be a friend.
So parents, if you're listening,this is not about if you want
to have a big brother big sisterfor your child. It's not about bringing
somebody else in there to raise yourchild. It's not about you know,
them taking over like a nanny Wood. This is more like you know,
partner along and having a buddy thatcan give a good perspective to the big
(06:38):
brothers and big sisters work with theparents on discussions and things to do,
or they just kind of left hertheir own. You know, we're going
to go to chuck e Cheese orgo bowling or something, and we'll be
back in a couple of hours.And you know, well, the volunteer
always follows up with a parent orcaregiver. Okay, I'm planning on doing
this. Is that okay? Andwe always ask that the volunteer follow up
(06:59):
with the parent after making plan.What's the commitment as far as time goes?
How many how many different visits aweek to big brothers and big sisters
make with these kids, so it'sonly twice a months. That's really easy
for anybody to want to volunteer becauseyou just have to commit just two days,
different times of the day, whateverworks out us for everybody, everybody,
just like any other relations I gotyou. Are there more men or
(07:20):
women involved in this? Is aboutthe same or where's that? More women?
So you need big brothers, Yes, brothers. You have about sixty
two little brothers waiting. How oldare the kids? What age group?
Seven to fifteen? Seven to fifteen? Okay, that's when they can enroll,
all right, So yeah, havingtwenty two year old need a big
brother at the point they kind ofneed to jump out on their own as
(07:42):
an adult they yeah, right,essentially, I'm sure there are other programs
out there for sure. Yeah.So once again we're right out of time.
I'm going to have you back.But where do people go if they
want to volunteer and help out withyou know, their littles. Just go
to b b BS b HM dotorg start right there or google big Brothers,
Big Sisters. I'll find out moredefinitely needed folks to help these young
(08:03):
people out. Awesome, nice tomeet you guys. Thank you. This
is Viewpoint to Alabama and this pastweek we observed the twenty second anniversary of
the nine to eleven terrorist attack herewith more on. This is Ryan Gorman.
I'm joined by David Payne, presidentand co founder of nine eleven Day.
You can learn more about this tremendousorganization at nine eleven day dot org.
(08:24):
That's nine one one day dot org. David, thank you so much
for taking a few minutes to comeon the show ahead of this upcoming nine
eleven anniversary, and before we diveinto what nine eleven Day is all about,
take us back to that tragic daytwenty two years ago and tell us
about your personal experience. Yeah.I was born and raised in New York,
(08:45):
and so I you know, Iknew the city intimately, and although
I had had moved to California priorto nine to eleven, you know,
I think New York was always myhometown and so when the attacks occurred,
it was devastating to me personally.You know, I had worked down there,
I had ridden the elevators on theWorld Trade Center towers. You know,
(09:07):
I just knew the community so well, and so it was very personal
to me. And then on topof that, a very very good friend
of mine, Jay Winnick, whoended up becoming my co founder, lost
his brother Glenn, in the collapse. Of the World Trade Center South Tower,
and Glenn was an attorney who workedat the law firm Holland at night,
(09:28):
but he was also a trained volunteerfirefighter in EMT and so, like
a lot of brave first responders,after evacuating his own building, he went
into the South Tower to rescue people. And he was in the process of
getting people out of the South Towerlobby when the building came down upon and
I had my own brother, fortunatelydid get out of the area, but
(09:52):
he was right across the street andhe watched the second plane hit and he,
in the process leaving the area,witnessed people jumping from the towers.
So it was very, very closeand intimate for me in a lot of
ways. And about six months afterthe attacks, Jay and I sat down
(10:13):
together and we said, how dowe make something good come from this horrific
experience? And I think we wereboth inspired by the way the nation changed
in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, when we weren't Red states or Blue
states, we were just human beingshelping one another. And the beauty of
(10:35):
that that the awakening of our humanspirit and the innate goodness that came out
so many people you know, notjust in the United States but all around
the world. It was a phenomenonthat I had never ever experienced before in
my life, and I think Iwill personally, I just wanted to keep
that spirit of the unity alive atleast one day out of the year.
(10:56):
And I think for me and forJay, we thought that we couldn't think
of a better way to pay tributeto all the people that lost their lives
and the many heroic people that youknow that Rosen service in response to the
attacks than to sort of try totransform or or turn nine to eleven,
the anniversary of nine eleven into thatsame kind of experience that Dave doing good
(11:18):
at Dave unity and kindness. Andso that's what we've done. And before
we get into more about the creationof this organization and the specific work that
you do, there are many Americansnow, including some I'm sure listening to
the show we're too young to rememberthat day who weren't born back then.
So can you step us through.I'm sure you remember it like it was
(11:41):
yesterday. I know I do.I can rehash my entire experience that day,
But what were you going through?What were you doing as all of
that unfolded twenty two years ago.Yeah, like a lot of Americans,
you know, I found out aboutthe attacks because somebody called me, right
a colleague of quick, you know, quick turn on the television set,
(12:05):
and of course I didn't. ThenI never left that television set screen or
other screens for days on end,like a lot of Americans. And it
was particularly heartbreaking for me because Iwas now living three thousand miles away from
the New York area, my hometown, and I wasn't sure where my members
of my family were. I wasn'tsure if people were safe, and so
(12:28):
it was very, very painful forme to observe it from afar. And
it's interesting because I know a lotof people who lived in the New York
area in DC that you weren't surewhether the rest of the country you felt
the same way as they did.And while the experience, of course for
people who were in New York,DC and elsewhere close to the attack is
(12:50):
a unique, you know, onethat could never be replicated. I would
say that having you know, witnessedthe attacks from California and watching the reactions
of all my neighbors and friends here, there was no difference in that respect
which we were all stunned and shockedand horrified, and it really was a
(13:11):
transformational experience for me personally, thatthat that you know, literally that was
a very first few minutes and thenin the weeks that are after, and
I just it changed my life.I just didn't want to do what I
was doing anymore. And I wasworking for a you know, a public
relations firm, and I said,you know, I don't want to.
I don't want to be promoting tacosand diapers anymore. Right, I want
(13:33):
to change my life. I wantto I want to do something meaningful.
And when I saw the horror ofthat day, I just said, hey,
you know, we're going to tryto turn this stuff around. I
mean, this kind of hate thatis bred by intolerant and sort of the
perception of difference which doesn't exist.It's an illusion. You know, we're
all born the same, you know, when we all leave this plane at
(13:54):
the same and everything in between isjust a thought, you know, our
different and everything. And I justI wanted to make that my life mission.
And that's what I've done, alongwith my good friend Jay. I'm
Ryan Gorman, joined by David Paynenine eleven Day president and co founder.
You can learn more at nine toeleven Day dot org. That's nine one
(14:16):
one day dot org. I'm surea lot of people across the country had
that same thought that you and Jayhad, that you wanted to take this
awful tragedy and turn it into somethingpositive. But you and Jay managed to
do it with the creation of nineto eleven Day. So you mentioned earlier
(14:39):
how it initially came about, butstep us through the process of really creating
this organization and turning it into themovement that it's become, well, I
think I certainly recall it. Thevery first step that we both took was
to sit down with other nine elevenfamily members, people who had lost their
(15:00):
loved ones, because you know,it was an idea that we had,
but we didn't know whether or notit was going to be something that they
felt was appropriate for, you know, to honor their own loved ones.
And so we started having these privatemeetings one on one with many of them
still you know, deeply sort ofimmersed in their grief and despite the fact
that so many of them were suffering, you know that from this unimaginable loss.
(15:28):
You know, when we started withjust a handful of people who were
even aware of it. Today agood you know, forty percent of the
country is aware that nine to elevensa day of service. We still have
a long way to go, butthere are millions of people that get out
now and observe it through through volunteering, donating to charities, giving things away,
or just trying to be a littlemore kind and considerate and helpful to
(15:50):
one another through good deed. Doingyour attempts to get this to become a
federally recognized holiday. What were someof the issues that you dealt with as
we're trying to get that accomplished.Well, I certainly learned a lot about
Washington Dctate during this period of time, because neither Jay or I hadn't really
spent any time in Washington at all. And and we were fortunate to get
(16:14):
a lobbyist in DC, a friendof ours, who just taught us a
little bit about it, you know, and helped walk the halls of Congress
with us, and we went doorto door and we just started meeting members
of Congress. And you know,I think we've both felt Jay and I
did that, you know, withthe support of the entire nine eleven community
basically behind us that the idea ofmaking done eleven the day of service would
(16:37):
be a no brainer, right.I think most people listening right now are
like, why was this such aprocess? Well, I think what we
learned first and foremost was there isno such thing as a no brainer in
Washington, DC. It takes alot of time to explain it. And
you know, keep in mind toothat at that time, especially in the
first four years, we were stillvery concerned about whether we would be the
(17:00):
subject of subsequent terrorist attacks, sothere was a lot of focus more on
the protection of the country. Obviously, we had now initiated a war in
Afghanistan and subsequently in Iraq, andso the timing to sort of turn nine
to eleven into a day of doinggood to some degree as a day of
peace, it just didn't align withwhere the nation was in the first i'd
(17:23):
say five four or five six years. But as as the years went on,
interestingly enough, the desire to tryto hold on to that spirit of
togetherness became more and more popular,and we found that members of Congress started
to like the idea that there shouldbe some permanent legacy. And it was
(17:45):
really then you know, just beforethe change in the administration toward the end
of the Bush administration, where PresidentBush became very much a big supporter of
that. We had both Republicans andDemocrats that were joining together, and it
sort of led the way for thepassage of a legislation called the Edward M.
Kennedy Serve America Act in two thousandand nine that made September eleventh a
(18:10):
day of service under federal law andsupported other national service programs as well.
I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by DavidPayne, not eleven Day president and co
founder. You can learn more atnine to eleven day dot org. That's
nine one one day dot org.So when you say it's a day of
service, what exactly does this daynow encompass? Well, nine to eleven
(18:34):
days I think quite unique because it'snot just a day of volunteering. It's
honestly just a day of doing goodand that can be in any form of
person wants to express it. So, you know, kids can make their
beds and do the dishes, orhelp a sibling with their homework. People
can give something away. They canthey can make a donation to a charity
(18:56):
like our charity or they can volunteerit's or they can just hold the door
open for someone be a little moreattentive to the importance of kindness in our
lives. And so we are encouragingthem to not be afraid to talk to
their children about nine to eleven,but do it in a positive way.
Talk about the goodness that came fromso many people, the way in which
(19:19):
we all join together in unity.And on our website we have all these
great lesson plans, toolkits and resourcesall free for people to use and consider.
It sounds like the essence of nineto eleven day, And correct me
if I'm wrong, but it isto on this day bring back that sense
(19:40):
of community and helping each other andcaring about each other that we all really
experience, like you alluded to earlierin the aftermath of the September eleventh attacks,
I think that's exactly right. Oneof the things I thought that was
so profound right after nine eleven wasthe way even members of Congress, withou
Publicans and Democrats alike, made adelivered effort to promote the importance of unity,
(20:06):
and during the State of the Unionaddressed, they would sit next to
one another rather than on each sideof the aisle the way they do now,
and it was a fleeting moment,There's no doubt about it. You
know, we lost our sort ofattachment to the togetherness that really does exist
innately and all of us. Andnine to eleven Day is very much about
(20:30):
celebrating and honoring that togetherness, thatspirit of compassion and unity and kindness that
lives in every single one of usevery single day. And it's a reminder
that we shouldn't need a tragedy ofnine to eleven proportions to bring us together
as Americans, that we have thatinnate unity that already lives within us every
(20:52):
moment of every day, and wehave to all be careful that we don't
allow ourselves to become to or tobe divided by forces that benefit by our
division because in the end, andthis is something I learned from nine to
eleven, we are not divided aspeople. We just think we are.
It's an illusion. I'm Ryan Gorman, joined by David Payne, President and
(21:15):
co founder of nine eleven Day.You can learn more at nine eleven day
dot org. That's nine one oneday dot org. Social media can be
so toxic, but you have aninitiative that really brings to like the best
that social media can offer. Tellus about your hashtag I will for nine
(21:37):
eleven day campaign? Yeah, so, quite a number of years ago,
we started noticing that in classrooms aroundthe country, teachers were getting their students
involved in planning their own kind ofgood deeds that they were going to do
with their with their classmates or withtheir parents, and then the teacher would
(22:00):
hand out these little pledge cards andthe kids would write down what they were
going to do for nine to elevenand under sort of this sort of theme
of I will for nine to elevendot dot dot, and we thought,
wow, what a cool idea.So we started launching this social media campaign
where we're inviting every American who isgoing to do any kind of active kindness
(22:22):
to take ten seconds to get ontothe social media page on nine to eleven
and share what they plan to do. They don't have to do it on
nine to eleven. They can justsay this is what I'm planning to do
this week or whenever they're thinking ofdoing it, and then they share it
with the hashtag I will for nineto eleven deaths And that's how we see
millions and millions of good deeds thatpeople do every year, all over the
(22:47):
country, all over the world.It's just a remarkable phenomenon, and so
social media is becoming a tool forus to witness the goodness that lives in
so many Americans every day. Finalquestion for you, for those listening who
want to support the tremendous work you'redoing with nine to eleven Day, what
are some of the different ways theycan go about doing that. There are
(23:08):
a lot of ways in which peoplecan participate. Certainly, they can volunteer
on that day, and if theygo to our website at nine to eleven
Day Forward slash Volunteer, you know, we are listening quite a number of
the big, large volunteer projects thatwe're staging around the nation this year,
and there may be opportunities for individualsto sign up to participate in those events
(23:33):
where we will be packing six pointfive million meals for people who are at
risk of hunger and will be ineighteen different cities, So there could be
opportunities to volunteer directly with us.But even if a person can't volunteer with
us, there are just so manyother simple good deeds that they can do
in their lives, but it doestake just a moment to stop and say,
(23:53):
okay, you know what could Ido? I mean, I have
a fourteen year old son and everyyear he usually goes through his clothes at
he's outcloned and we donate them toGoodwill. So and he's an example of
a person who was born after Septembereleventh, and yet here he is,
you know, keeping the promise tonever forget by doing simple good deeds.
(24:15):
So I would just say to everybody, I'm sure that you can come up
with something good you want to doon that debt, and then go ahead
and do it and share it onsocial media using the hashtag I will for
nine eleven Day. And I'll justadd another way that everyone can support this
work is by donating, and youcan do that at nine to eleven day
(24:36):
dot org. David Payne, Presidentand co founder of nine eleven Day,
David, I want to thank youso much for taking a few minutes to
come on the show, and ofcourse for all the really important work you're
doing with nine eleven Day. Wereally appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Of course, I'm Ryan Gorman hereon iHeartRadio. Communities and now want
to bring in our next guest forthis nine to eleven anniversary special. I'm
(24:57):
joined by John feel founder of thefield Good Foundation, which you can learn
more about it feel good foundation dotcom. John, it's great to talk
to you again before we spend sometime in your mission to help those who
help so many on nine to elevenand in the days, weeks and months
after the attack, tell us aboutyour personal experience on that day twenty two
(25:18):
years ago. Well one, thankyou for having me, and as we
approached the twenty second Anniverse three,I pray anybody who's suffering from that horrific
Tuesday finding comfort knowing that Americans thinkingabout it. And you know my story
tells in comparison to those who diedthat day or those who that's sick and
died out there. I'm blessed.And while I had a horrific and gruesome
(25:42):
injury and spent the eleven weeks inthe hospital and almost died, I'm blessed.
I'm able to beat a voice ofthousands, and it's a responsibility that
I take serious, and we lookforward reluctantly. We look forward to advocating
into the future as we evolved inthe nine eleven community re evolved for the
(26:04):
worst. More and more people aregoing to sick, and more and more
people are dying. And the Septembersixteen at my Park on Long Island,
we're adding three hundred and fifty ninemain heroes who died from a nine eleven
related illness in the calendar year.The struggle that you've been through trying to
(26:26):
get this healthcare to those who needit, I think most people listening would
say, why in the world wasit a struggle? Why are we hearing
words like struggle and battle and thingslike that. Why is it so difficult
to get this help? And whatare some of the things you're currently working
on that you're trying to get donemoving forward? Yeah, well, the
(26:51):
first part of that question, Ican answer for stupidity, for leadership,
lack of commitment, ideologies not ideologies, ideology, party before country. There's
a million reasons bad leadership, poorleadership, corruption, political games, kicking
the Canada, and you know,I can think up a million prisons.
(27:12):
Wiet they made its fight so hard. We were lied to on September sixteen
two as a one when they saidthey able to take the fact that they
lied to us and made us fightpass long. I'm still scratching my head
and that's probably why I'll have achip on my shoulder the rest of my
life. I've been to over twohundred feerals and it's it's it's I don't
(27:33):
know why God is doing this tome, but it's painful. That's what
we're fighting for now. You know, last year, John Stewart and I
helped get the burn Pit Bill passfor millions of veterans for three hundred billion
dollars. And now we were fightingto get the World Trade Center help program
extended. We got to catch tothe NDAA and we got part of the
(27:57):
money that we were asking for.But we're gonna have to go back and
next from more money next year,and it's is gonna be a it's going
to be an ongoing fight. ChristinoCongress as a turnover and right now there's
no legislative process in DC other thanto stay in power and and longevity.
So we have our hands full.But you know, between going to DC
(28:18):
or upset New York or New Jerseyor Michigan where nineteen to nineteen getting legislation
pass and I'm going to retire likeRocky Marciana. Well, it really is
incredible work. Now, how caneveryone listening help support that work and make
sure what needs to get done forthese heroes who serve this country on and
(28:41):
after nine eleven that whatever they needgets done and gets taken care of.
Well, I think everybody can tunein on CNN films and watching No Responses
Left Behind with John Stewart and Iin way to fight, the others went
to DC and then I let themto study what they want to do.
After that they want to send anemail and say thank you as point you.
That's good enough for me because somany people, so many people a
(29:06):
Christians whole country in every congressional districtthat went to ground zero, many of
them are fighting for their lives rightnow and it's getting worse. Well,
and I will tell everybody you cango to Feel Good Foundation dot com.
That's fea l Good Foundation dot com. You can learn more there and you
can donate to help this tremendous causeas well. John feel founder of the
(29:29):
Field Good Foundation. John, thankyou so much for the great work you're
doing. Keep fighting the good fight, and if there's anything we can do
to help, just let us know. Thank you, my friend, God
bless you, and thank you everybodyfor listening. You've been listening to Viewpoint
Alabama, a public affairs program fromthe Alabama Radio Network. The opinions expressed
on Viewpoint Alabama are not necessarily thoseof the staff, management, or advertisers
(29:51):
of this station.
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On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!