Rescue workers grateful for letters

Messages from Trumbull County residents were sent to ground zero shortly after the terrorist attacks.
By DENISE DICK
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- People involved in the relief and recovery effort at ground zero in New York City are giving thanks to Trumbull County residents.
The Trumbull Chapter of the American Red Cross sent messages of hope to firefighters and emergency workers after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.
The Red Cross distributed the Messages of Hope cards at Eastwood Mall shortly after the attacks to allow residents to send their thoughts to the relief workers.
Some of those relief workers are sending their thanks back.
"In a tragic time like this, it is very helpful to know that people from all over the country and the world care about us," wrote Capt. Frank Leto of New York Fire Department. "Getting through this most difficult time is easier knowing that you want to help."
Letters: Jackie Wolf, a Trumbull Red Cross spokeswoman, said the agency has received seven such letters from N.Y.C. emergency personnel.
"The people in our community opened their emotional checkbooks, opened themselves to all of this," Wolf said. "Now they're seeing that their support is appreciated."
One firefighter sent a poster with an emblem of the Statue of Liberty and "FDNY -- Still the greatest job on earth," printed in red and blue letters to the agency.
Wolf plans to laminate or frame the poster and hang it in the agency's office.
Losing faith: In another letter, a New York social worker writes that she was losing faith after the terrorist attacks. She said she didn't believe there were any good people left.
"But after reading your messages of hope and how sincere they really are, I began to feel happy and hopeful again," she wrote.
Wolf said the agency still has some of the message cards, donated by Warren Printing, available for residents to send their thoughts to the relief workers.