Two Tulsa teens help fellow NYC teens

While most kids spent their spring break having fun, two Grace Fellowship students went to work. Now children who lost a parent to terrorism are one step closer to recovery. <br><br>News on Six reporter

Monday, April 1st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

While most kids spent their spring break having fun, two Grace Fellowship students went to work. Now children who lost a parent to terrorism are one step closer to recovery.

News on Six reporter Tami Marler says when Blake and Fiona Markham saw these towers come crashing down; they knew what they had to do. Sheila Schmidt: "When 9-11 happened, my son turned to me and said we need to take the project to New York." And that's exactly what they did. They put together almost two thousand packets of their children's book "I Cried Too" - determined to give every child who lost a parent in the attacks a free copy.

Fiona Markham: "We've gone through the same thing, we know how it feels, and we can help them get thru it." They know how they feel because Fiona and Blake suffered a loss of their own. When they were just 5 and 8 years old, their dad died in a tragic accident. The story "I Cried Too" is written by children, for children, about the way children grieve. And the message is, it's OK to cry. Blake Markham: "That's ultimately what we want to display to the children that itâ€™s not their fault that they shouldn't blame themselves for this."

While in New York the family visited Ground Zero and a fire station in Brooklyn that lost part of its crew to the attacks. The New York City Fire Department honored the Broken Arrow teens with a citation, and the firefighters gave them one of their now famous hats. Blake and Fiona say the most important part was visiting the kids. Blake: "People that go through things like what we did end up having to deal with that their whole lives and I dunno I think its kind of a hope that we're not still grieving over it that we did get over it."

Their gift of hope is affecting a lot of people. In the week since the family returned, the requests for "I Cried Too" keep pouring in from others in New York City. Fiona and Blake say they'll keep meeting the demand.