In autumn 2001, Gramercy resident Jennifer Lerch called her sister Bonnie Brieschke in Sylvania, Ohio, about supplies needed by New York’s emergency workers. Donations gathered through Bonnie’s bakery helped fill a cross-country relief convoy.
Bonnie’s sons Kyle and Cody came to New York to launch Kids Helping Kids, an extension of Gramercy’s Neighbors Helping Neighbors effort. With their brother Blake, they planned school fundraising and the sale of police and fire-department caps to support children of local officers killed on September 11.
Linda Barr’s December 6, 2001 Town & Village report described more than a fundraising idea. The boys wanted children in New York to know that other children were thinking of them. Arlene Harrison hoped Gramercy teenagers would join the effort.
Young volunteers also brought meals, supplies and letters to the 13th Precinct relief operation.
Sources
Adapted from both pages of the newspaper clipping preserved by the Gramercy Park Block Association.