Relief Fund Hero Award
Executive Director, Asociación Tepeyac of New York

Brother Joel Magellan spent his first two years as a Jesuit in Mexico digging through the rubble and rebuilding homes following the 1985 earthquake. Handpicked by Cardinal O'Connor, he came to New York a decade later to minister to a growing Mexican immigrant population. To provide services that addressed the community's needs, Brother Joel formed the nonprofit Asociación Tepeyac.

In the harrowing days following 9/11, Asociación Tepeyac was a lifeline for families of undocumented workers lost in the attack. The families were soon joined by hundreds of illegal workers—immigrants who lived paycheck to paycheck and, suddenly jobless, had no food, no rent money and no safety net. Under Brother Joel's leadership, Asociación Tepeyac mobilized to prove the existence of the undocumented workers who perished in the attack and to provide emergency cash relief to victims' families and the jobless.

Asociación Tepeyac had always operated on a shoestring with only two employees in addition to Brother Joel. All services were delivered by full-time volunteers. Post 9/11, with the immigrant community in crisis, Robin Hood felt that Asociación Tepeyac was in the best position to help. Asociación Tepeyac now has a staff of 20 and has become a model for providing services and assistance to those affected by September 11th.