MHS Girls Swimming & Diving Team Supports Paulie's Push
Posted Date: 08/31/26 (11:14 AM)
The Middletown High School Girls Swimming & Diving Team received a special visitor to their car wash fundraiser this past weekend, helping support the cause of "Paulie's Push."
"Paulie's Push" is a mission that has been carried out for the past five years by retired flight attendant Paul Veneto to memorialize the flight crews who lost their lives on board the planes that were hijacked on September 11, 2001. He has done so by pushing an airline beverage cart across hundreds of miles, from city to city, symbolizing the flight paths of the four airplanes hijacked on that day. The journey passes through neighborhoods, where Veneto raises awareness of mental health and support, and honors the thousands of lives lost on that tragic date, including the flight crews, who he calls the "first, first responders" that day.
Members of the MHS swimming and diving team got the opportunity to wash Veneto's iconic beverage cart, as well as the massive RV that has now joined him on his journey. This final "Paulie's Push" started in Boston, traveled through Massachusetts and eventually entered Connecticut. The journey traveled through Middletown on Saturday, and made a special pit stop at the car wash, set up at the Ace Hardware store on South Main Street.
"Paulie's Push" continued southwest through Connecticut, on its way to Ground Zero in Manhattan, a 220-mile trek in its entirety. Veneto and his team is expected to arrive in Manhattan on September 11, having logged over 1,000 miles over the course of their numerous journeys over the years.
Paul Veneto was a United Airlines flight attendant who was working on board Flight 175 the night before September 11. He continued to work in the wake of the national tragedy, but later retired, after the emotional toll the events of September 11 took on him.
After years of improving his mental and physical health, Veneto launched "Paulie's Push," and set out on his first of several missions to remember and honor all those flight attendants lost on that fateful date.
In 2021, marking 20 years since the attacks, Veneto embarked on his inaugural "push," taking an airline beverage cart and pushing it from Boston-Logan Airport to Ground Zero in Manhattan, symbolizing the flight path of United Flight 175 that crashed into Tower 2 of the World Trade Center.
In 2022, Veneto set out on another quest, this time, pushing his cart from Washington-Dulles Airport to the Pentagon, symbolizing the flight path of American Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon.
In 2023, he pushed the beverage cart from Newark-Liberty Airport to the National Flight 93 Memorial in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, symbolizing the flight path of United Flight 93 that crashed out in a field in rural Pennsylvania
In 2024, Veneto pushed from the Boston Public Garden's 9/11 Contemplative Garden to Ground Zero in Manhattan, symbolizing the flight path of American Flight 11 that crashed into Tower 1 of the World Trade Center.
This year is the final year of "Paulie's Push," and the organization is marking this special occasion with one final journey from Boston to New York City. The organization is encouraging those along the path to come out and support Veneto's cause by helping push the beverage cart with him, as Paulie's Push has brought out several additional beverage carts, in addition to the main cart, to allow members of the community to join his quest.
You can learn more about "Paulie's Push" and support the mission of Paul Veneto by visiting the Paulie's Push website.