On April 21, 2013, many members of the 9/11 Tribute Center attended the 9/11 Memorial 5K Run/Walk and Family Day to support the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and to encourage volunteerism. All funds raised support the 9/11 Memorial and 9/11 Memorial Museum. More than 2,000 participants gathered at Hudson River Park's Pier 57, the starting point of the first 9/11 Memorial 5K Run/Walk, to honor the victims of 9/11 and to support the memorial and museum. April 21 marks the anniversary of the day President Barack Obama signed into law legislation making 9/11 a day of service and volunteerism in the memory of the victims of the 2001 attacks.

Participants followed a historic route featuring significant places in 9/11 history, such as the NYPD Memorial and "Point Thank You," where people gathered along West Street to cheer and thank 9/11 rescue and recovery workers as they headed to and from the site. After 3.1 miles, the participants finished near the entrance to the 9/11 Memorial.

Tribute volunteers, who all come from the 9/11 community, are the official guides for the 9/11 Tribute Center, and for our walking tours on the 9/11 Memorial. Our volunteer guides - first responders, survivors, family members, area residents and volunteers - connect visitors from across the country and around the world to the Memorial and humanity of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, in deeply powerful ways. Their personal stories give voice to those who no longer have a voice, honor the memories of all who perished and recognize those who risked their lives to came to aid of people in need.  For many, it is also a very important part of healing. As one of our volunteers explained, "After the training weekend, I feel more whole. I felt as if I were connected to all of the people in my training group, and as if I were less of a witness to grief, but rather a witness to strength and perseverance."

While tours follow a general format, the experience, insight and perspective of each of our volunteers makes each tour unique.

Working with other volunteers in the training process and while giving tours or speaking to school groups, becomes an important part of telling your personal story, and understanding more about your own experience. "Hearing the stories of the other volunteer guides has broadened my insight into the scope and meaning of that day," a 9/11 Tribute Center volunteer commented.

"Giving tours gives me a chance to talk about something that is very close to my heart. Each tour I do helps me express how important September 11th was and is."

Created in 2010, the Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Services and its five offices provide leadership, coordination and support for efforts to prevent, protect against, prepare for, respond to, and recover from terrorism and other man-made and natural disasters, threats, fires and other emergencies. DHSES personnel work to develop communication and coordination with officials in government, the private sector and volunteer organizations who may be involved in disaster response.  

Jerome M. Hauer is one of the nation's innovators in public safety, emergency management, medical and public health planning and response to emergencies, disasters and terrorism. Appointed Commissioner in November 2011 by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, he oversees all five branches of DHSES-- Counter Terrorism, Cyber Security, Emergency Management, Fire Prevention and Control, and Interoperable and Emergency Communications. Commissioner Hauer has a long record of innovative firsts in the areas of homeland security, emergency management and medical/public health planning. In 1996, he was appointed the first Director of the Office of Emergency Management for the City of New York by Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Prior to his work for the City of New York, in 2002 Hauer was appointed the Federal government's first Acting Assistant Secretary for the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness.

He has been an assistant professor in the George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services and the School of Medicine, and an advisor to the Columbia University's School of Public Health, the Los Angeles Police Department and the Stanford School of Medicine. Commissioner Hauer has coauthored 46 publications, a book and two monographs. 

After travelling many miles, guides and Ambassadors from the Shanksville and Pentagon 9/11 communities visited the Tribute Center on April 6, 2013. The day began with a walk through the 9/11 Tribute Center led by our guides, followed by a walking tour onto the 9/11 Memorial and then a visit to 7 World Trade Center, where our guests saw a presentation on the rebuilding of the World Trade Center and the National September 11 Memorial & Museum. After lunch volunteers provided a guided visit around lower Manhattan and a tour of St. Paul's Chapel.

A guest from Flight 93 mentioned, "My husband and I are members of the Friends of Flight'93.  We want to thank you for making it possible for us to visit the Tribute Center and the 9/11 Memorial.  We were deeply moved by the presentations of the 9/11 Tribute Center guides.  Their dedication was clearly evident.  This visit has further enhanced our kinship and understanding of the 9/11 Memorial in New York City."

A special thank you to our 9/11 Tribute Center volunteers who played such an important role in the days events, hosting and sharing their story and generous hospitality: Maria Malone-Hodges, Al and Maureen Santora, Brenda Berkman, Maxime LaBoy, Theresa Mullan, Eileen Green, Loreen Sellitto, Janice Testa, Howard Gould, Desiree Bouchat, Misako Yamagishi, Vic Guarnera, Jim Sorenson, Susan Mollo, Joan Mastropaolo, Jeanette Gutierrez, Jennifer Taylor, Sonia Agron, Jose Agron, Anthony Palmeri and everyone else who made this day such a great success.

The 9/11 Tribute Center has committed to maintaining strong relationships with the other sites affected by the attacks of September 11th. Our guides travel to the Pentagon, Shanksville or members of the September 11th community come to the World Trade Center with programs dedicated to victim support and rebuilding communities.

A new exhibit at the 9/11 Tribute Center in Lower Manhattan features 8 memorials in the U.S. and overseas that incorporate steel recovered from the World Trade Center.  Each memorial is unique, and created by people who have deep commitment to remembering those who were lost on 9/11.  The memorials were also created to inspire promise for the future, as stated by several of the designers, ordinary citizens, and a U.S. Navy commander cited in the exhibit.  

"We know that the steel that is part of the USS New York represents those people who were lost, but for us it also represents hope, and we keep both of those things close to us," stated Curt Jones, former Commanding Officer of the USS New York.

The memorials range from a sculpture in the shape of an eternal flame initiated by a Boy Scout in La Quinta, California for his Eagle Scout project, to a granite memorial with a portico under which are pavers engraved with names of all of the victims of 9/11 in Tewksbury, Massachusetts.  One of the memorials is in the shape of an origami crane, which was carried to Japan by members of the 9/11 Tribute Center community to as a message of compassion for the victims of the tsunami, earthquake, and nuclear disaster of 3/11.

The memorials are just a few of the thousands of memorials worldwide that incorporate steel from the original World Trade Center.

Those in the exhibit are:

USS NEW YORK:  A United States Navy ship that incorporates 7 tons of steel in its bow stem.