February 2002 - Nr. 2
Olympic Focus
German American Solidarity Fund Brings
Young People to Winter Games
TWIG - Eight young people directly affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks travelled to Salt Lake City to experience the 2002 Winter Games through an initiative of the German American Solidarity Fund (GASF). The teens, five from the Washington, DC area and three from the New York area, lost a parent either in the attacks on the Pentagon, the World Trade Center or in the plane crash in Pennsylvania.
"We hope this experience will brighten their routine," Ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger said of the young people, with whom he met during their stay in Utah. "This is something uplifting. Hopefully they will see new horizons and come back with new energy and a new outlook. We also hope that they will make friends among each other and with the German children in the International Youth Village."
The eight young guests, ages 14 to 18, and two chaperones are staying in a private home in Brighton, home to the Olympic International Youth Village, where they have a chance to meet some of the 50 German young people staying in the village. They will attend ski-jumping, biathlon, speed skating and hockey events, meet Olympic athletes and sightsee during their stay out West from February 16 through February 21.
"I just want to have fun," said Alexandria, Virginia resident Ashley Lynch, 17. Her father was killed in the attack on the Pentagon. "It’s a nice break and a once-in-a-lifetime chance." Lynch said she would especially like to see women’s hockey competitions.
Horace Morris of Upper Marlboro, Maryland said his son Keith, 18, an avid sports fan, looked forward to the trip. "It gives him some insight into the Olympics, and since it’s a cultural exchange, it will also give him some insight into US-German relations." Morris’ wife, Keith’s mother, also died in the attack on the Pentagon.
The GASF, in cooperation with the Navy & Marine Corps Relief Society and the Army Emergency Relief in the Washington area and with the Lutheran Church and two Catholic high schools in New York City, selected the young people who went on the trip. Since it was established by the German Embassy in Washington shortly after the terrorist attacks, the fund has received US$8.2 million in contributions and given out US$5.4 million in donations to benefit the families of victims. In all, donations to relief and support efforts by German corporations, organizations and individuals in the name of German-American solidarity total US$42 million.
