9/11: Keeping The McCourt Memory Alive

New London lost two of its residents in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Ruth McCourt, 45, and her 4-year-old daughter, Juliana Valentine McCourt, were aboard the second plane to hit the World Trade Center. Only a week later, the Juliana Valentine McCourt Children’s Education Fund was created to carry on the little girl’s memory.

“We were inundated with gifts from around the world,” said Alice Fitzpatrick, president of the Community Foundation of Eastern Connecticut, which administers the fund.

With a mission to “educate young people everywhere in the virtues of generosity, kindness, and the acceptance of differences among cultures, races, and religions,” the fund gave out $100,000 to Operation Respect and Mentoring USA in 2002. It has continued since then, giving out small grants to a number of local organizations that foster tolerance and cross-cultural understanding. The New London police and fire departments add to the fund each year with a baseball game played in the McCourts’ memory.

“They’ve really been wonderful about keeping this memory alive” said Fitzpatrick.