STANDISH, MAINE - On September 11, 2018, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine hosted a breakfast event in the Stone Barn at Sebago Lake that commemorated the anniversary of the September 11, 2001 tragedy and featured remarks by Donato J. Tramuto, CEO of Tivity Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: TVTY), based in Franklin, TN. College President Jim Dlugos, Ph.D. led the crowd of students, faculty, staff, and non-profit leaders from around the country in a prayer of remembrance and healing.
Donato Tramuto speaking at Saint Joseph's College of Maine
From the podium, Donato Tramuto shared how he founded The Tramuto Foundation of Ogunquit, Maine in 2001 following the death of his two close friends and their young son–a family who perished aboard United Flight 175. This was the plane that was flown into the South Tower of the World Trade Center in New York City on September 11, 2001. Tramuto explained how he was originally scheduled to board. He said, “I would give everything I have to not be here today. But, fate has brought me here. I was detoured by a toothache. Something in my own soul died that day, but something else came to life. I have channeled pain into action. I have tried to create a force for good in the world. We all have a responsibility to bring more good into the world.”
Leading attendees in prayer, President Dlugos recited from a Sisters of Mercy prayer service, “Loving God, you inspire us with love for all creation. Give us today the strength and courage to transform the compassion of our hearts into acts of peace, mercy and justice. Forgive us for the arrogance that leads to moral blindness, for desires for vengeance and retaliation and for willingness to sacrifice others for our own security. Empower us to shape a world marked by ways of life that lead to justice and peace. Fashion in us a people who are more ready to grow in understanding than eager to judge those who are different from us. Form us, a people determined to heal wounds rather than inflict them.”
Eight non-profit organizations–all of whom are the 2018 Tramuto Foundation recipients of nearly $1 million in special multi-year grants–gathered to commemorate the tragic losses of the terrorist attack and to begin a collaborative fundraising project. These grant recipients are: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine (Maine), Boston University School of Public Health (Massachusetts), Good Shepherd Food Bank (Maine), Thomas Jefferson University – Jefferson College School of Population Health (Pennsylvania), Robert F. Kennedy Children’s Action Corps (Massachusetts), Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (New York), Health eVillages (Tennessee), and Lwala Community Alliance (Tennessee).
Following the breakfast prayer, the grant recipients–who were meeting face to face for the first time–presented their organization's respective missions and began planning for a 2021 fundraising gala that will occur in Maine on the 20th anniversary of 911. All funds raised by the gala will support the Tramuto Foundation’s philanthrophic goals.
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- President Dlugos leading a commemorative prayer
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- Sally Newhall, Sister Joyce, Elizabeth Schran, Father Gabriel
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- Donato Tramuto meets Father Gabriel
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- SRCTV interviews Donato Tramuto
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- Bill Young, Diane Atwood
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- Commemorative 911 breakfast in Stone Barn
Donato Tramuto (St. Joseph's College) from srctv on Vimeo.
About Saint Joseph’s College of Maine
Founded in 1912 by the Sisters of Mercy in Portland, Maine, Saint Joseph’s College is Maine’s Catholic liberal arts College. The 474-acre campus, located on the shore of Sebago Lake in Standish, Maine offers more than 40 undergraduate programs and a Division III athletic program to a population of approximately 1,000 on-campus students. In 2015 the College was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to receive its Community Engagement Classification, highlighting the College’s focus on community service throughout its mission and daily interactions on campus and within local, regional, and global communities. In addition, Saint Joseph’s College provides certificates and undergraduate and advanced degrees for thousands more working adults who reside throughout the United States and in more than 20 other countries through an online learning program. Learn more at www.sjcme.edu
About Tramuto Foundation
About Tramuto Foundation: Founded in 2001, the Tramuto Foundation has helped tens of thousands of people realize the mission of creating a brighter future through student scholarships, as well as financial grants to organizations worldwide whose vision is to help right the wrong and make this world a better place for all. The Foundation has served as a voice in creating partnerships that have a sustainable and measurable impact in making the world more just and fair. For more: www.tramutofoundation.com
