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PLEASANTVILLE, N.Y. On Sept. 11, 2001, Andrea Garbarini experienced the worst tragedy of her life. Her husband, Lt. Charley Garbarini, was one of the 343 New York City firefighters who lost their lives at the World Trade Center that day.
In the years since, Garbarini, of Pleasantville, sought to show the good that followed the loss. She created a documentary, "From the Ground Up." The story details the charitable work of five FDNY widows who turned their grief into action.
"It's hard to make anything good come out of something that terrible but I wanted to show that there is light at the end of the tunnel," Garbarini said. "I hope it can give people hope."
The film features Garbarini, Maureen Fanning, Sarah Siller, Una McHugh and Kate Richardson.
"I met a lot of women over the years and these families really inspired me," Garbarini said. "I think stories like these women are not told as often as they should be."
Fanning, who has two autistic children, built two group homes for autistic children. The homes were a way to honor her husband Jack Fanning, who once said he would build such facilities if he ever won the lottery.
Siller helped create the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation in honor of her husband, who sprinted through the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel to the burning towers with 70 pounds of gear strapped to his back. Tunnel to Towers has raised millions of dollars for foundations in support of orphaned children, burn victims and military personnel who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq.
McHugh raised money for a library in her hometown of Piermont. Taking their daughter to the library for story hour was one of her husband Dennis McHugh's favorite activities.
Garbarini said she was initially inspired to create a film showcasing this charitable work because of personal feelings that 9/11 victims were being shown in a negative light.
"From the Ground Up" has been entered in film festivals all over the country and was shown Tuesday at the Pleasantville Presbyterian Church in Garbarini's hometown.
It will be screened Thursday at the Jacob Burns Film Center, where two scheduled showings are already sold out.
After each showing of the film, Garbarini will participate in a Q&A session with the audience, which she believes is a healing mechanism.
"It helps talking about it, it's very therapeutic," Garbarini said. "It shows those people that they didn't beat us, they didn't win that day,"
If you miss the Pleasantville screenings, "From the Ground Up" will be shown on PBS Friday at 9:30 p.m. and on Monday at 12:30 a.m. It will air on the Oprah Winfrey Network on Sunday at 10:15 p.m. The movie will also be sold on DVD and can be purchased on the film's website. All proceeds from the film will be donated to the charities associated with the 9/11 widows.
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