It’s been 24 years since Kevin Tuerff was one of 7,000 “plane people” stranded in tiny Gander, Newfoundland, by the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
What happened next sparked an ongoing “Pay It Forward 9/11” kindness movement, a book, a movie and a musical, “Come From Away,” on stage now at The Cape Playhouse through Aug. 30.
“‘Come from Away’ is based on the true story of the time when the isolated community of Gander, Newfoundland, played host to the world,” according to The Cape Playhouse’s website.
On those four days in 2001, Gander’s 8,000 residents opened their arms to the strangers whose 38 planes were diverted so officials could clear the skies as quickly as possible.
Kevin Tuerff, founder of “Pay It Forward 9/11” in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, where he was one of 7,000 plan passengers stranded for four days after the worst terrorist attacks on the United States.
Despite language and cultural barriers; despite no security checks and no way of knowing if these planes held more terrorists, Gander embraced the strangers and responded by closing schools to provide sleeping spaces and turning its hockey rink into a walk-in refrigerator for the thousands of meals needed.
“There wasn’t a stove in this town that wasn’t cooking. Your volunteer duty could be making toast at four in the morning for 250 people or driving (strangers) to people’s homes to take a shower,” Tuerff, 59, said in an interview Wednesday.
Cast, crew and musicians from The Cape Playhouse perform an inspirational anthem recognizing the 7,000 people — and their cultures — stranded in Gander after the 9/11 attacks.
Tuerff, founder and president of “Pay It Forward 9/11,” never forgot the kindness he and others encountered in Gander. He is still in touch with people there.
“It’s fair to say my life was transformed over those four days I was stranded there. People in this little town kept saying ‘You would do the same’ and that bothered me because I wasn’t sure we would.
Kelli Barrett, playing pilot Beverly Bass, in The Cape Playhouse’s production of “Come From Away.”
“There are times when people do step up. But my mission is to get people to do that every day,” he said, noting that the effort is also a lasting tribute to remember the 2,977 people who died at New York City’s World Trade Center Twin Towers, the Pentagon and in a Pennsylvania field when passengers on a fourth terrorist plane fought back.
On the first anniversary of 9/11, Tuerff, then an Austin, Texas businessman, gave each of his 40 employees a $100 bill, asking them to use it for random acts of kindness and report back on what they did.
“Some of them bought coffee or a meal, some stood in line at the courthouse and paid a stranger’s parking tickets … But talking about it, they were all having the helpers’ high. They were experiencing that euphoria that comes with random acts of kindness,” Tuerff said in a 2020 Tedx Talk.
Now, the “Pay It Forward 9/11” nonprofit still encourages people to “Do three good deeds and watch the ripple effect of kindness.” There is a particular push for the “11 Days of Kindness” movement, which encourages organizations to promote random acts of kindness each day from Sept. 1 to Sept. 11, with a session to let everyone talk about their experiences on Sept. 12. The “Pay It Forward 9/11” website includes a blueprint for groups that want to participate, as well as a new plan specifically aimed at getting kids involved.
Individuals and groups are also invited to share their experiences through the Pay It Forward 9/11 movement’s social media platforms on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube.
Like all nonprofits, “Pay It Forward 9/11” depends on donations, but the kindness initiative is not a fundraiser for anything other than kindness.
Tuerff, who now lives in New York City and works full time for the American Thoracic Society, has seen the musical, “Come From Away,” 112 times and met several versions of himself ― including Jeremy Woodard who plays Kevin T. in The Cape Playhouse production.
Real-life passenger stranded in Gander at ‘Come From Away’ in Dennis
Tuerff was at Saturday’s (August 23, 2025) sold-out show in Dennis, signing copies of his book, “Channel of Peace: Stranded in Gander on 9/11” beforehand and joining the cast to answer questions for the audience after.
Asked what it was like to play real people during the 10-year run of “Come From Away,” Joel Hatch, who originated the role of Gander mayor Claude Elliott on Broadway and plays him at The Cape Playhouse, said, “I think it helps that they are real people. The fact that we’ve met them and that we think they’re heroes, well, we’re not going to let them down.”
Talking about the play’s comedic touches, Hatch said, “This story would be intolerable without the comedy; comedy is what makes us human.”
During the session, Tuerff announced a $25 fundraising raffle from Aug. 15 to Sept. 12 called “The Great Gander Getaway Giveaway”: The prize is two free roundtrip airline tickets on Air Canada to Gander, two nights of lodging, tickets to “Come From Away” and more. Information is available at payitforward911.org/.
Tuerff, one of scores of people interviewed during the writing of “Come From Away,” smiles at one moment in the play when a volunteer gives Kevin T. a buffalo plaid shirt and his then life partner, Kevin J., says he looks like a gay lumberjack.
“It didn’t happen, but I’ve embraced that line because it works so well,” Tuerff said.
“Come From Away” has been touring internationally so Tuerff can meet himself speaking German and even Japanese in the coming months.
Being stranded in Gander, he said, changed him.
“It was the first time I’ve had to rely on the kindness of a stranger literally. I had a credit card but there were no hotel rooms and only 15 taxis,” said Tuerff, who tells a poignant story about trying to walk to the Gander WalMart where stranded passengers bought out the underwear aisle.
Although he grew up going to church with parents who donated to charities, Tuerff said experiencing the island’s kindness at age 35 changed him for the good.
“You feel like you’re part of something bigger in the universe when you share.”
