There was excitement, a blinding array of hockey jerseys and smiles all around, in spite of some pretty nasty falls, at the ice skating party held January 26 hosted by Tuesday's Children, a non-profit committed to the children of 9/11. The hugely successful event, sponsored by the Manhasset branch of Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, was held at Christopher Morley Park in Roslyn/North Hills. Present were members of the WTC Family Counseling Center (WTC) as well as four members of the New York Islanders hockey team-Eric Cairns, Roman Hamrlik, Mark Parrish and Jason Blake. The children, and many parents too, could line up for autographs then skate with the players. There was no rough checking last week--the players were warm and charming whether posing for photographs or skating with the children.

"Tom Suozzi was instrumental in getting Christopher Morley Park to work with us for this event," said Amy Wright, events planner with Tuesday's Children. Amy continued, "about 130 family members are here today. Coldwell Banker sponsored the event and we are very grateful to them."

Chris Burke is the president and founder of Tuesday's Children, a non-profit service organization that has made an 18--year commitment to every child who lost a parent on September 11. Chris himself lost his brother, Tom, the father of four sons, in the collapse of the World Trade Center. Watching the delighted skaters Chris also had high praise for Coldwell Banker. "It is important to acknowledge that an organization like Coldwell Banker has brought 9/11 families together not only from our community but from the surrounding area as well. Coldwell Banker gets it. They understand we need to let these kids know they haven't been forgotten. We use events like this one to get the children under the larger umbrella of our many services."

Tuesday's Children programs include children's mentoring, special event resource, family support network, creative insight, career paths and giant steps self discovery. The programs are impressive in their diversity and their attempt to replace as much as possible the loving guidance of a lost parent. For example, children's mentoring provides one-on-one interactions with an adult role model to explore career options and family life issues, while special event resources, through donated tickets to sport and cultural events, provide the children with stronger ties to the community and just plain fun. Adults are the focus of creative insight, a 10 week workshop in partnership with Stanford University, providing innovative life management tools. Giant steps addresses teens who are the most at risk group of all 9/11 survivors. More information about the organization can be found on their website at www.tuesdayschildren.org or by calling 516-562-9000.

The WTC Family Center ministers to the Rockville Center families affected by 9/11. Following the attack on the World Trade Center the South Nassau Communities Hospital (SNCH) opened a free standing bereavement and trauma center for families touched by the event. Thomas Demaria, Ph.D. is the director of the center and is also administrative director of Behavioral Health for SNCH. The WTC Family Center provides individual counseling, and 24 specialized support groups. "After the shock of the last few years," Thomas Demaria said, "the children are now ready to face the difficult parts of the mourning process, for example they don't have a dad to take them ice skating. These events engage kids in a non-threatening way to eventually talk about the deeper more important issue of losing a parent." He went on to say, "one child was anxious to tell me he was on a championship hockey team. I think he just wanted to share that with an adult male."

Rubbing her hands together for warmth after picking her daughter, Amanda, up off the ice, Diana Hetzel, who lives in Elmont, said, "We go to as many events as are age appropriate in both Tuesday's Children and WTC. It's great to be out with children who are in the same situation. Amanda was only 2 then and she is 4 now so it is not so meaningful, but as time goes on I believe it will be important for her to have this connection."

Janlyn Scauso came from Dix Hills with her daughters Juliette and Gabrielle. Janlyn's assessment of Tuesday's Children was, "Thank God." "Days like today let the children smile. It continually shows how many people still care because the loss doesn't go away. They'll always be without their father."