The New York Says Thank You Foundation

“Stavros, I need to know if you can drive cross country with me tomorrow. I need to know in the next hour.”

Jeff’s request was unreasonable AND attractive. I hung up the phone to think about it.

When his son, in a moment of childhood innocence and generosity, offered to send some of his toys to less fortunate children displaced by the California wildfires of 2003, Jeff challenged him to do more. Involve the rest of the kids in their Manhattan apartment building and ask them to contribute to a toy drive.

The Innovation Challenge:

It has been almost a decade since Jeff posed a similar challenge to Stavros Michailidis, founder of Innovation Bound: how can we make a meaningful difference. After millions of people from across the nation rose up to help the victims of 9/11, Jeff, Stavros and other New Yorkers sought a way to express their gratitude. They wanted to return the favor, to give hope to others in their time of need, and to do so through acts of kindness.

The Result:

The New York Says Thank You Foundation was founded to bring relief to Americans stricken by disaster. Each year on the 9/11 Anniversary, The New York Says Thank You Foundation sends hundreds of volunteers from New York along with disaster survivors from around the country to help rebuild communities around the United States recovering from disaster. In the winter of 2006, NYSTYF organized a team of tradespeople to travel to hurricane-stricken Louisiana with the skills and material to help families rebuild. In 2008, on the seventh anniversary of 9/11, NYSTYF helped rebuild the Kansas 4H center in Greensburg, KS after a devastating tornado lay waste to the town.

Today’s challenge was simple: several large boxes were now accumulating in Jeff’s lobby – boxes of toys, water bottles, blankets, gift cards and other supplies – which needed to get to San Diego as soon as possible. Jeff’s solution was to rent a large truck, attach a sign to it that read “New York Says Thank You,” and drive 2753 miles across the country.

Stavros called Jeff back less than 5 minutes later.

“If I take any more time to think about this the answer will be NO, so let’s get to it now.”

Learn more at www.NewYorkSaysThankYou.org.