Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund

Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund is a United States charitable organization created after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to assist families of workers in the food, beverage, and hospitality sectors who died at the World Trade Center. The fund was established in response to the unusually concentrated loss suffered by restaurant, catering, corporate-dining, kitchen, delivery, and hospitality employees across the complex. The organization was closely associated with Windows on the World, the restaurant occupying the 106th and 107th floors of the World Trade Center. All 79 employees working at Windows on the World that morning were killed. Other food-service workers elsewhere in the complex also died, including caterers, chefs, kitchen workers, corporate dining-room personnel, and restaurant delivery workers. Many were relatively early in their careers and were primary or important contributors to household income, leaving surviving relatives with immediate housing, living-cost, insurance, education, and administrative needs. A founding group of hospitality and restaurant professionals organized the fund to provide both emergency and longer-term support. Its founders included food-industry public-relations consultant Darlene Dwyer; David Emil, then an owner and operator of Windows on the World; Michael Lomonaco, the restaurant's executive chef; Waldy Malouf, chef and co-owner of Beacon; and Tom Valenti, chef and owner of Ouest. The fund initially distributed cash grants and subsequently broadened its work to include insurance coverage, educational tuition assistance, and case-management services. Case management helped families navigate the Federal Victim Compensation Fund and related settlements as well as the practical consequences of bereavement. Fundraising was conducted with substantial participation from the restaurant and hospitality community. One of the best-known initiatives was a nationwide Dine Out event on October 11, 2001, when participating restaurants donated 10 percent of that evening's sales to the fund. The organization ultimately raised approximately $23 million. To strengthen administration and financial assistance delivery, Windows of Hope obtained support from the Community Service Society, an established social-service organization. A study of September 11 nonprofit organizations later cited this collaboration as an example of a new disaster-relief organization recognizing its limits and using an experienced partner to respond more effectively. By 2006, the fund had narrowed its primary focus to tuition assistance for members of the affected families. It contracted with Scholarship America to administer tuition payments and reimbursements while retaining an educational liaison to help families communicate with the scholarship administrator and address education-related questions. The fund therefore evolved from an emergency-relief organization into a longer-term family-support and scholarship program. Reference material describes the fund as expecting to continue serving the affected families in that educational capacity through 2022. Publicly available material supplied for this dossier does not establish the organization's present operating arrangements, current leadership, or whether its activities continue beyond that period.

Windows of Hope Family Relief Fund emerged from the restaurant and hospitality community's response to the September 11, 2001 attacks. Windows on the World, a prominent restaurant on the 106th and 107th floors of the World Trade Center, lost all 79 employees who were working there that morning. The attacks also killed food-service workers located elsewhere in the complex, including caterers, chefs, kitchen employees, corporate dining-room staff, and delivery personnel. The loss created a distinctive set of family-support needs. Many of the victims worked in operational or entry-level positions and their deaths could immediately affect rent, household expenses, insurance, and educational plans. Restaurant and hospitality professionals therefore formed Windows of Hope as a dedicated relief organization for the families of workers in these sectors. The founding group included Darlene Dwyer, David Emil, Michael Lomonaco, Waldy Malouf, and Tom Valenti. The fund's early work combined direct financial aid with longer-term assistance. It provided cash grants and later helped with insurance coverage, tuition, and case management. Case-management services were important because families had to address both personal bereavement and complex claims connected with the Federal Victim Compensation Fund. The organization did not operate only as a grant distributor; it also helped families manage the practical and administrative consequences of losing a household member. The hospitality industry supported the organization through donations and coordinated fundraising. On October 11, 2001, restaurants in New York and other parts of the country participated in a Dine Out event, contributing 10 percent of that evening's sales. The fund ultimately raised approximately $23 million. Its board recognized that a newly created relief organization needed outside expertise to administer assistance and structure its operations, so it enlisted the Community Service Society for services the fund could not efficiently provide itself. An analysis of September 11 nonprofit organizations by Binghamton University public-administration scholar David Campbell identified Windows of Hope as a successful example of a disaster-relief organization that combined initiative with institutional cooperation. The analysis emphasized the fund's willingness to acknowledge its administrative limitations and work with an established social-service organization. This arrangement helped it respond quickly while developing more sustainable procedures. In 2006, the fund's emphasis became more narrowly educational. It contracted with Scholarship America to handle tuition payments and reimbursements for family members. Windows of Hope retained an educational liaison to assist families with Scholarship America and to answer education-related questions. This represented a transition from an emergency-response model toward a continuing scholarship and family-support role. The reference material states that the fund expected to serve the Windows of Hope families in this educational capacity through 2022. It does not provide reliable current information about the organization's legal status, present leadership, a current website, or operations after that period. Accordingly, the fund's historical mission and activities are well documented, while its current status requires verification.

• 2022

  Reference period for expected family service

  [1]Windows of Hope Family Relief Funden.wikipedia.org

  Available reference material says the fund expected to continue serving its families through 2022 in an educational-support capacity.

• 2006

  Program focus shifts toward education

  [1]Windows of Hope Family Relief Funden.wikipedia.org

  Windows of Hope concentrated more heavily on tuition support and contracted Scholarship America to manage tuition payments and reimbursements.

• 2001

  Fund established after the September 11 attacks

  [1]Windows of Hope Family Relief Funden.wikipedia.org

  Restaurant and hospitality professionals founded Windows of Hope to support families of workers in the food, beverage, and hospitality sectors who were killed at the World Trade Center.

• 2001

  Dine Out fundraising event held

  [1]Windows of Hope Family Relief Funden.wikipedia.org

  Participating restaurants donated 10 percent of sales on October 11 to the new relief fund.

• 2001

  Community Service Society brought in for administration

  [1]Windows of Hope Family Relief Funden.wikipedia.org

  The fund enlisted the established social-service organization to help with administrative and organizational functions.

A sector-specific disaster-relief and family-support organization rooted in the restaurant, food-service, beverage, and hospitality communities affected by the September 11 attacks.

• Financial assistance · 2001

  Emergency relief grants

  The fund initially provided cash grants to families of eligible victims. These grants were intended to address immediate household needs following the loss of a food, beverage, or hospitality worker in the World Trade Center attacks.

• Family support · 2001

  Insurance and settlement assistance

  Windows of Hope expanded its support beyond direct grants to include insurance-related assistance and case management. These services helped families deal with compensation processes and settlements connected with the September 11 attacks.

• Education support · 2006

  Tuition assistance

  Tuition assistance became the fund's principal area of emphasis from 2006. The program supported educational costs for members of the affected families and was administered operationally through Scholarship America.

• Education support · 2006

  Educational liaison services

  An educational liaison supported families in communicating with Scholarship America and helped address questions about educational matters, tuition payments, and reimbursements.

• 2001Dine Out for Windows of Hope

  United States

  Restaurants in New York and other parts of the country participated in a coordinated October 11 fundraising event and donated 10 percent of their sales that evening to Windows of Hope.

  Outcome. The campaign formed part of the fund's broader restaurant-industry fundraising effort, which ultimately raised approximately $23 million.

  Source

• 2006

  Shift primary emphasis to tuition assistanceStrategy

  Background

  After the initial period of emergency relief, the continuing needs of affected families increasingly centered on education and tuition support.

  Action taken

  The fund narrowed its focus to tuition assistance and contracted Scholarship America to administer tuition payments and reimbursements.

  Aftermath

  Windows of Hope retained an educational liaison and continued serving families through a longer-term scholarship-support model.

  Source

• 2001

  Create a dedicated hospitality-worker family relief fundStrategy

  Background

  The September 11 attacks killed large numbers of restaurant, catering, dining-room, kitchen, and delivery workers at the World Trade Center, creating needs not fully addressed by generic disaster assistance.

  Action taken

  Hospitality professionals created a dedicated fund for immediate grants, longer-term family support, education, and case management.

  Aftermath

  The organization served approximately 120 families and developed a continuing support program.

  Funds raised. Approximately $23 million (By the end of the fund's principal relief fundraising period)

  Source

• 2001

  Partner with Community Service SocietyStrategy

  Background

  The newly formed fund's board recognized that it needed outside expertise to administer assistance and structure its operations.

  Action taken

  Windows of Hope enlisted Community Service Society to provide services beyond the fund's internal capabilities.

  Aftermath

  A later analysis cited the partnership as a factor in the fund's effective and responsive relief work.

  Source

1. 1Windows of Hope Family Relief Funden.wikipedia.org