{"id":396715,"date":"2026-09-11T09:38:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T09:38:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/396715\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T09:38:10","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T09:38:10","slug":"coconut-grove-woman-grew-third-wave-volunteers-after-9-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/396715\/","title":{"rendered":"Coconut Grove woman grew Third Wave Volunteers after 9\/11"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Photographs<\/p>\n

Photographs from ground zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan.<\/p>\n

Courtesy of Alison Thompson<\/p>\n

When Alison Thompson saw a plane hit the World Trade Center on the news 25 years ago, she tossed on her rollerblades and skated eight miles to downtown Manhattan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew I had to get down there,\u201d said Thompson, 62, who now lives in Coconut Grove.<\/p>\n

It was a horrific scene, Thompson said. She saw someone lying on the ground and started performing CPR. She walked down a little farther and saw a woman\u2019s arm sticking out from under rubble with a \u201cbeautiful diamond ring on her hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI went over and just pulled at the rubble, and I pulled at her arm,\u201d she said. \u201cThe arm just came and nothing else. I screamed and threw it in the air.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Thompson was taking in the devastation, she and others heard a great rumble and the North Tower collapsed, she said. Everything went black, \u201clike those images of Hiroshima.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole world was black and white,\u201d she said, adding she lost 64 friends that day.<\/p>\n

Thompson, who has a paramedic background, sprung into action<\/a>, she said. In the first six days, she washed out firefighters\u2019 eyes, searched for people and helped set up a small first aid station at ground zero. She then signed up with the American Red Cross, so she could continue to aid rescue workers for nine months until cleanup operations closed on May 30, 2002.<\/p>\n

FROM THE ARCHIVE: \u2018Unspeakable.\u2019 See the original Miami Herald coverage on Sept. 11, 2001<\/a><\/p>\n

\"At At ground zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan. Courtesy of Alison Thompson <\/p>\n

While the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks are among the worst tragedies in American history, the aftermath brought Thompson hope for humanity, seeing people from all over the world come together. A woman in her 80s drove down from Chicago upon seeing the news just to pass out hot tea to those working at ground zero. One man made sure the sole nearby toilet was running, filling it with water each day.<\/p>\n

Thompson started to cry as she remembered the \u201cquiet heroes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The motto of \u201ceveryone is needed\u201d sparked her nonprofit, Third Wave Volunteers<\/a>, she said. Since then, she and thousands of volunteers have traveled all over the country and the world to help others in the wake of disasters.<\/p>\n

Her nonprofit responded to the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, wildfires in Hawaii and California and hurricanes in Florida, according to Thompson. Recently, she and other volunteers were on the front line of the Russia-Ukraine war, training Ukranian soilders and getting food and supplies to them.<\/p>\n

MORE: 25 years later: Where to remember Sept. 11 in South Florida<\/a><\/p>\n

In 2022, she received the Presidential Lifetime Service Award from President Joe Biden for her efforts. But she\u2019s not in it for \u201call these little trinkets.\u201d Third Wave Volunteers is her full-time job, but she hasn\u2019t \u201cbeen paid a cent in 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

People in Miami and everywhere can often get distracted by \u201cfirst-world problems\u201d and fights over politics, she said. The anniversary of 9\/11 serves as a reminder of what is important in life and what the world can accomplish when people come together.<\/p>\n

Disasters are becoming more frequent and more severe, and \u201cwe all just have to step up and do something\u201d in whatever ways we can,\u201d she said. \u201cI just wanted to lead with love, which is my strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Photographs Photographs from ground zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in Lower Manhattan. Courtesy of Alison Thompson <\/p>\n


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