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On Sept. 11, 2001, he got stranded in Canada. Now, he runs Pay it Forward 9/11

Kevin Tuerff started Pay-It-Forward-9/11 after being stranded in Newfoundland on Sept. 11, 2001. (Business Wire/AP)
Business Wire/AP
Kevin Tuerff started Pay-It-Forward-9/11 after being stranded in Newfoundland on Sept. 11, 2001. (Business Wire/AP)

Here & Now‘s Scott Tong talks with Kevin Tuerff, founder and president of Pay

it Forward 9/11, about his experience on Sept. 11, 2001, as stranded airline passenger in a tiny town called Gander in Newfoundland.

Tuerff has taken his experience and turned it into an international kindness movement, asking people to complete three random acts of kindness during 11 days in the month of September.

 

Tuerff is also the also the author of “Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11” and his story is part of the Broadway musical “Come from Away” that tells the story of the 7,000 people who were stranded in Gander after Sept. 11.

This article was originally published on WBUR.org.

Copyright 2026 WBUR

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