Dear Wesleyan Community,

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my story about my experience on Tuesday. I am relieved to say that I am ok, and so far, I have been able to account for all my loved ones. As I write this, 5,000 people are still missing, and I'm afraid a name will appear that I know - a fellow Wesleyan alum, perhaps, or a friend of my parents, I don't know.

I am deeply, deeply sad for anyone who is missing a loved one in this tragedy. I'm sure we all share a tremendous need to help those who are hurting now, although it's not always clear how to do that. As of right now, they don't need blood, they don't need volunteers, and they can't take any more food. This outpouring of love and support is amazing to watch.

Although I didn't loose friends or family, I did suffer a great loss. I work for the NY Janitors union - Local 32BJ of SEIU. Some may be familiar with their Justice for Janitor's campaign. We have 70,000 members in NY, including janitors, window cleaners, porters, tour guides, etc, many of whom used to clean the World Trade Center.

At the time of the attack, 350 of our members were in the building. Of those, 300 escaped, all with miraculous stories to tell; 50 are missing and presumed dead. 3,000 of our members now have no jobs because the buildings they used to clean are gone. Another 3,000 are temporarily out of work due to the closing off of downtown Manhattan.

I would like to make a special appeal right now for help. Many of our members are immigrants, many don't speak English, none of them are rich. With thousands out of work and 50 completely missing, we know that they and their families desperately need our help. They will have trouble, I predict, getting the resources they need from the government due to the fact that many don't speak English well and are new to this country.

Our union is setting up a special relief effort by helping with counseling, translators, and, here comes your part, financial assistance. Many members won't receive next week's pay check. They have to pay for funerals, for the rent, college tuition fees, etc. If people can, and if they would like to, I'm asking friends, family, alums, to make a contribution of any size to the janitor's union relief fund. Here's how:
Checks can be made payable to the SEIU September 11th Relief Fund. Send to: September 11th Relief Fund 101 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10013
If people would like the money to be made in someone's memory, or if people prefer for it to be anonymous, please include a note indicating your preference.

I am grateful to Wesleyan Community for the opportunity to share my experience, and on behalf of the Janitor's union, we are very grateful for any support people may be able to provide.

Wishing all a Shana Tova - a Happy New Year. Ilana Sumka, '97


PS: Please feel free to circulate this as widely as you feel would be appropriate. Thanks.