A Nyack family who lost their son on 9/11 is using his memory and a bandana to encourage more kindness.

Welles Crowther was a volunteer firefighter and trader in one of the Twin Towers. He died helping others before the towers fell.

The documentary "The Man in the Red Bandana" highlights how Crowther gave his own life getting workers out of the building until it collapsed on him.

On Tuesday, his story inspired Pleasantville Middle School students to help others in ways both big and small. The students received a green bandana - the school colors - to serve as a reminder.

"He kept a red bandana on his desk, and one day one of his co-workers walked up and said, ‘Welles, what are you doing with this? Why do you carry this thing?’ He picked up the red bandana and said, ‘With this red bandana I'm going to change the world,’” said his mother, Allison Crowther.

Allison Crowther says students can be heroes themselves just by doing little things. The principal of the school says it’s part of a curriculum that also focuses on leadership and forgiveness.

The school’s PTA is also starting a "Green Bandana Scholarship Fund." The fund will help kids go on trips if their parents can't afford to pay the fees.