Generation X-Cel

Knox: Housed in the projects of lower Manhattan is Generation X-Cel. It’s a place safe from drug dealers and crime. Here at risk youth get help with homework, play games, even learn karate. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center, this safe haven has become even more valuable, valuable to children terrorized by the attack on their city.

Jim Esposito: Every pastor that we’re in connection with is saying kids, no matter how close they live to the site or how far they live in the out-lying boroughs, are having nightmares. They don’t want to go to school, they don’t want to ride the train, and they don’t want to go in tall buildings or ride elevators.

Knox: This mother of four struggles daily to comfort her frightened children. They saw the towers fall.

Mom: My oldest son said that he saw it from his school and he couldn’t believe it. He said it looked like a movie. He was in shock. He couldn’t even believe that happened.

Knox: Pastor Rick Delrio is very close to what goes on at X-Cel, and he was one of the first to see the horrors at Ground Zero.

Delrio: I was immediately approached by someone, one of the officers that said, "There are some body parts here. Would you do last rights?” I prayed for that family and began to pray for the officers and went right in there. It really became heavy on me, and I was able to almost bring comfort. They saw the collar, and they were thanking me for being there. I was the closest thing to God at that point.

Knox: He says it was clear that Christian relief agencies needed to coordinate and support each other. And the Ground Zero Clergy Task Force was born. Delrio's son Jeremy, the co-founder of Generation X-Cel, chose to leave his job as a corporate attorney and direct the new task force. But without his salary, X-Cel couldn’t support itself. How could he help the task force and not disappoint the X-Cel kids? By the help of the Christian Broadcasting Network partners.

Jeremy: When I decided to leave the firm, I was taking a step of faith not only personally but also on behalf of X-Cel. God would need to intervene, provide resources and Operation Blessing stepped in and provided manna from heaven to support the program on an interim basis. We’re looking forward to a longstanding relationship with Operation Blessing and our friends at CBN.

Esposito: When Jeremy was called to serve the Ground Zero Clergy Task Force, the funding at this particular site was jeopardized, and we knew that this was an important outreach.

Crying Mom: I’m a single working mom and if it hadn’t been for the center, I wouldn’t know where to leave them. I’ve got four kids, and they’ve been here in the summer, in the winter, after school. They enjoy it, they like it a lot, and it’s a relief knowing my kids are somewhere where they can be safe and I can trust the staff to help them out.

Knox: And the best news? Programs like X-Cel extends far beyond Manhattan.

Esposito: Partners of Operation Blessing and CBN are helping through programs like Generation X-Cel. The sites that we have throughout the metropolitan area, in Manhattan, in the five boroughs, in Long Island, and New Jersey, there are points of hope. OB’s ministry is taking place every day of the week where the word of God is going forth. The love of Christ is being shared, and the healing of the Gospel is touching the lives during this very sad, critical, and uncertain time.