Brooke Jackman will always be 23. September 11 made sure that she would not age. The Oyster Bay High School graduate’s family has made sure that she and her passions for books will be forever remembered.
Denis Hammil quoted Brooke’s mother Barbara in an article in the Sept. 8, 2008 Daily News. He wrote, “At 9:17 a.m. Brooke made one of the last calls out of the towers,” says Barbara. “She left a message at our house in Oyster Bay describing the room they were in on the 104th floor of Cantor Fitzgerald in the northeast tower. She said they broke the window to be able to breathe, asking for help to rescue them…”
“Today would have been her 30th birthday,” says older sister Erin.
Mr. Hammil spoke to the family at one of their literacy outreaches into the NYC community. Funds for the work of the Brooke Jackman Foundation have been raised at their annual gala event in October and at their annual race in Oyster Bay.
Run for Literacy
The 4th Annual Brooke Jackman Run for Literacy is just around the bend. Your run or support can provide books, literacy programs and build libraries all over the New York area to benefit children in need. The race begins at the Theodore Roosevelt Elementary School in Oyster Bay, Long Island at 10:15 a.m. on Saturday, May 16.
It’s a 5K run/walk kick-off followed by an activity-filled day sponsored by NYS Senator Carl Marcellino and the Oyster Bay Chamber of Commerce. It features a rock climbing wall, live entertainment, rescue demonstrations and much more.
It all comes together as the annual Oyster Bay Health and Fitness Fair.
There is something for the children, too! Children ages 10 and younger start at 9:45 a.m. for the 1/4 mile free Fun Run. Whether you run, watch or sponsor a runner, you’ll have a great time and help promote youth literacy!
For more information and/or to register to run in the race, please go to the Internet Brooke Jackman Foundation and you can download information.
The Brooke Jackman Foundation
Its mission is to honor Brooke’s legacy-a deep love of reading and a profound interest in helping children-by helping to create and support programs enhancing the literacy and self-esteem of children.
• Because reading aloud is one of the most important things parents can do to help their children learn.
• Because children who live in print-rich homes and who are read to during the first years of life are much more likely to learn to read on schedule.
• Because parents of children living in poverty may lack the money to buy books, not have easy access to children’s books, may not have been read to as children.
• Because reading aloud to children improves language development which is critical to school readiness.
• Because research shows that reading difficulty contributes to school absenteeism, failure and dropout- which perpetuate the cycles of poverty and dependency.
The Brooke Jackman Foundation is a not-for-profit organization created in October 2001 in response to the World Trade Center attack that claimed the life of Brooke Jackman, age 23.
