Jason Pitches in at BGC Charity Day

September 11, 2001 was a day that changed millions of lives across the world.

On the 12th anniversary of that tragic day, Jason Kidd offered his time and energy to an organization that has spent the years since working to help those who suffered terrible losses that day.

Jason takes a call from an investor during BGC Charity Day commemorating September 11th and raising funds for 9/11 charities.

Jason was one of several celebrity volunteers on hand at the annual BGC Charity Day hosted by BGC Partners and their affiliate company Cantor Fitzgerald to commemorate those lost in the terrorist attacks on New York City that day.

Headquartered in the World Trade Center, Cantor Fitzgerald alone lost 658 employees in the attacks that morning, leaving hundreds of families without mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers.

Cantor Fitzgerald picked back up following the devastating losses and pledged from that day forward to do all it could to help families who felt the lasting impact of the 9/11 attacks. BGC Charity Day and the Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund are direct results of that commitment.

Jason was one of several celebrtiy call takers on hand and together with brokers they helped raise of $12 million (Getty Images).

With the help of Jason and his fellow celebrity endorsers, BGC Charity Day raised $12 million this year alone and has brought in over $89 million since it was established eight years ago. The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund is one of over 100 charities that will benefit from the money that was raised.

While at the event, Jason was asked by reporters about his memories from September 11, 2001 and the days and weeks that followed. Jason had just moved to the New York metropolitan area at the time, following a trade from the Phoenix Suns to the New Jersey Nets. He remembers how the Nets’ run to an Eastern Conference Championship in June 2002 and the first NBA Finals appearance in franchise history served as a welcome distraction to residents of the area who had been mourning since 9/11.

“I think basketball was secondary, but it was also just a two-hour relief because people lost loved ones,” he said. “It was something that New Jersey wasn’t used to because of the teams they’ve had in the past, and there was something special about that year for us to come from the bottom and then have a great season. But it was also a time for us to touch lives and make people smile or cheer, to give them something to take their mind off for two hours.”

Check out more photos from BGC Charity Day below: