Nice Story About Accorsi

[jimster]

Quietly, Giants' GM Steps Into a Youngster's Life

http://sports.iwon.com/news/09082006/v1500.html

Sep 8, 8:45 PM (ET) Email this Story

By TOM CANAVAN

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -Standing on the practice field, Ernie Accorsi turned and pointed to a patch in the New York skyline less than 5 miles away.

"They used to be there," the Giants general manager said. "We could see them every day."

As the fifth anniversary nears of the World Trade Center attacks, Accorsi can still see the towers where thousands perished. And he has spent the past five years living with a secret.

Her name is Stephanie, and Accorsi has "adopted" her.

In the weeks after the attacks, like many Americans, Accorsi looked for a way to help. Instead of giving to a charity, though, he wanted to do more. He contacted a group of lawyers he had once addressed. That's how Accorsi learned about Stephanie.

The Glen Rock girl was 11 at the time. Her father, Anthony, was among the 658 New York employees at Cantor Fitzgerald Securities killed on the upper floors of the World Trade Center's north tower.

"I was trying to find someone who was really in need, and this little girl was living with her grandparents and they were on pension," Accorsi said. "She was going to a Catholic school and they were going to pull her out."

So Accorsi stepped in and offered to pay her tuition through high school, allowing her to continue studying at The Academy of Our Lady and now at Paramus Catholic High School.

Her grandparents, Lucille and Anthony, asked that the family's last name not be used because Stephanie, now 16, is having a tough time dealing with the upcoming anniversary. They turned down a reporter's request to interview her.

Accorsi declined to say how much money he has given.

"It's in the thousands," Lucille said. "It's thousands and thousands. You're talking a lot of tuition, but that's not all. He's done other things, too. That first Christmas he came by with all kinds of gifts. He told his daughter to go buy gifts for an 11-year-old and he came with pile of them. It made her day."

Christmas wasn't the only time Accorsi visited the family's home in northern New Jersey. He has been there for Stephanie's birthdays, confirmation, and even recently for a sweet 16 party.

"She has sent me pictures every step of the way," Accorsi said. "She gives me little color pictures, class pictures from school. I have watched her grow up from a little girl to a beautiful young lady."

Accorsi remembered the first time he brought Stephanie to Giants Stadium to watch the team practice.

"It's funny, she said to me: 'My dad was a Dallas Cowboys fan and I feel I have to honor his life,"' Accorsi recalled.

He knew what to say.

"Then you keep rooting for the Cowboys," he told her. "If that's what you remember. If that's who your dad rooted for, you don't have to feel any guilt about rooting for the Cowboys. Just be a Cowboys fan, keep rooting for the Cowboys."

Accorsi has tried to keep his charity work a secret, which doesn't surprise Giants spokesman Pat Hanlon.

"It's a subject we have rarely discussed," Hanlon said. "Ernie did it the way it should have been done, quietly and with dignity."

Stephanie's parents had divorced before Sept. 11 and she chose to live with her father, who was 38 at the time of his death. Stephanie's mother lives outside New Jersey. After the attacks, Stephanie moved in with her grandparents.

"They were very, very close," Lucille said of the girl's relationship with her father. "She was an only child, the apple of his eye. They went to football games, baseball games, ice shows. They did everything together. When she needs a place to go now, she goes to the cemetery, which is close by, and talks to him when she has a problem."

The coffin is empty. No trace of Anthony's body was recovered.

"I can't believe it's been five years," Lucille said, adding that Accorsi's help could not have come at a better time. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer and she lost her job shortly after Sept. 11.

"He has been wonderful," Lucille said. "He has such a big heart. He may have adopted her, but we have adopted him."

While he plans to retire soon, Accorsi said he has no intention of leaving Stephanie once her high school education ends.

"I will do what I can," Accorsi said. "I am not going to drop her."

[DWinzit]

What an act of kindness and didn't want people to know. Class Act. I knew Cantor Fitgerald employees who perished on 9/11, making this article a bit of a tear jerker.

[kingfish50]

Wow! That's great. When you read something like this, you put away all of the football rivalries. What a man. That is something that this little girl will remember and cherish for the rest of her life. Way to go Ernie and God bless you.

[tr1]

Very nice story.

Kudos to Accorsi.