Kevin Tuerff

On 9/11, Kevin Tuerff was on a TransAtlantic flight from Paris to New York City when US airspace was closed due to the terrorist attacks on the United States. Soon he would find himself in a refugee shelter in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. They took in more than 6,500 stranded airline passengers and crew for five days. They provided food, clothing and shelter for people from 90 countries. Telling stories from his memoir, Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11, and the hit Broadway musical Come From Away, Tuerff shares beautiful and humorous stories of being the recipient of Gander's compassion. On September 11, 2002, Tuerff launched Pay it Forward 9/11, a movement to honor the lives lost in the tragedy, by practicing random acts of kindness to strangers. He shares the best of stories from an 18-year tradition which expanded to four countries. After a spiritual encounter in 2016, Tuerff began cultivating compassion for global refugees, helping an asylum seeker to the U.S.

Scientific research shows performing random acts of kindness is good for your health. Kevin Tuerff started the annual Pay it Forward 9/11 movement in 2002, and this year it expanded from the US and Canada, to the UK and Australia. Tuerff shares heart-warming stories from both recipients and participants from among the best of 19 years of the practice. The basis for this began when he became a stranded airline passenger in Gander, Newfoundland on September 11, 2001. He explains how kindness and compassion for strangers produces the same brain chemistry as a runner's high, without doing any exercise. With more citizens participating in the movement, cities will reduce human suffering. Tuerff wrote about kindness and refugees in his memoir, “Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11.” In today's age of deep polarization, Tuerff shares how companies and local governments can lead with compassion.