AU alumna Zahara Heckscher helped the family of a Sept. 11 victim form a support group for terrorism victims this summer.
The family of Norma Steuerle, a passenger on the plane that crashed into the Pentagon, helped fund the initial stages of the organization, which is temporarily being called Family Voices. It seeks to unite victims of terror and respond to hatred by promoting education, poverty relief and cultural tolerance on the national and international level.
"I wanted to be part of this organization because I am inspired by the families who were affected by September 11 and responded by reaching out to help others, instead of turning inward or becoming bitter," said Heckscher, who has been the group's executive director since it began.
"I also welcomed the opportunity to be part of an organization that will make a difference in people's lives overseas [by] helping to promote tolerance, access to education and economic development," she said.
Family Voices' other goals include supporting other internationally oriented groups that seek similar goals. The group's immediate objectives include advocating for more effective foreign aid.
The organization's slogan is "Hope and healing through positive action."
Heckscher is originally from Newton, Mass. She received a bachelor's degree in biology from Wesleyan University and a master's degree in international development from AU in 2002.
Though the organization is relatively young, Heckscher said it holds much promise.
"While the organization is still in its infancy, I'm proud that we have been able to pull together a diverse team of September 11 friends and families to serve on the advisory board," she said. "Some of these friends and family have already made significant contributions to the type of work we want to support."
One contribution was from Susan Retik, a member of the advisers' board and a Sept. 11 widow from Boston. She rode her bike from the World Trade Center site in New York to Boston Common to raise money for widows in Afghanistan, representing a similar group called Beyond the 11th.
Heckscher said this is the type of motivation and support that will make Family Voices a success.
Other members of Family Voices' advisory board include filmmakers, business leaders and AU professors, including School of International Service professor Akbar Ahmed and SIS Dean Louis Goodman.
Students at AU also see potential in Family Voices.
"If more groups like this were implemented, there would be a stronger support system for those who are grieving," said Andrea Fantegrossi, a freshman in the College of Arts and Sciences.
Freshman Elizabeth Light, a student in SIS, also agrees with the group's goal.
"Family Voices seems like a new way to approach the terrorism threat," Light said. "I think education and tolerance will do more to bring peace than war will"
