by Jen Oemig
CHELMSFORD – The McCarthy and Parker Middle School PTOs are sponsoring a free screening of the Broadway musical “Come From Away” for Chelmsford families.
The screening will take place on Monday, Sept. 9, from 6 to 9 p.m. in the Carl J. Rondina Performing Arts Center at Chelmsford High School.
“Come From Away” tells the story of 38 planes – carrying 7,000 passengers – that were forced to land in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada when United States airspace was shut down on Sept. 11, 2001. The “plane people” nearly doubled the population of the little town of Gander.
Although the townspeople were ill-equipped for the sudden population burst, they greeted their guests with kindness and compassion, laughter, tears, and lots of food.
Kevin Tuerff was a passenger on one of the planes and was overcome with the response of the Ganderites. When he returned home, he wondered if his own community would have come out with such kindness.
Tuerff wrote a book about that fateful day titled “Channel of Peace” and also started an organization called Pay It Forward 9/11.
The mission of Pay It Forward 9/11 is to promote kindness and compassion every Sept. 11 to honor lives lost in the attacks by encouraging folks to perform three good deeds for strangers, asking them to pay it forward by doing the same and creating a ripple effect.
The PTOs are currently brainstorming ideas for a student initiative that will kick off the evening of the film screening to encourage all middle school students to perform acts of kindness over the following 11 days.
Lisa Bryant, vice-president of the McCarthy Middle School PTO, said she attended MelroseKind’s community viewing of “Come From Away” with her family last year, describing it as an incredibly moving experience.
Bryant then reached out to the local nonprofit to find out how she could replicate the evening in Chelmsford.
Following the film screening, attendees will hear from guest speaker Connor Farry, who was aboard one of the diverted planes as a child. Farry, now a member of the Pay It Forward 9/11 Board of Directors, will share details about his experience in Gander, as well as his work with the organization.
Reserve seats for the evening via this link: https://signup.com/go/SGDpOpO. Concessions will not be sold at this event.
