Happy New Year!  We would like to thank everyone who helped the 9/11 Tribute Center with a financial gift in 2013.  Your contribution is greatly appreciated. 

 

As we ring in the New Year we already have many new and exciting initiatives planned for 2014 including new online exhibitions; new educational resources to assist teachers in talking about the events of September 11th; welcoming many more new schools to the 9/11 Tribute Center; developing video testimonials from the 9/11 community which will allow us to share these stories in creative ways with other institutions and classrooms across the nation, and more.  This year we are also excited to expand the Tribute Teacher Awards and the Tribute Center partnership with the National September 11 Memorial Museum to provide walking tours at the 9/11 Memorial.  None of this would be possible without your generosity. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation or becoming a member of the Tribute family with a membership this year.

 

No donation is too small and every donation goes a long way in helping support our mission. We wish you a happy and healthy 2014 and look forward to seeing you at the 9/11 Tribute Center this year. 

 

 

Volunteers gathered for their annual holiday party in lower Manhattan on Tuesday, December 3rd at the India House Restaurant.  Approximately 200 volunteers came together to celebrate their accomplishments and milestones in the walking tour program.  Nearly 100 awards were handed out to volunteers whom have been braving the heat and the cold for visitors all around the world.  

 

Special mention of Christine Kraft, Gerry Bogacz and Kimberly Grieger for all completing more than 400 walking tours.  

 

"Thank you so very much for the wonderful holiday party. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful group of people in our lives."

 

"Wanted to send you all a big thank you and a huge hug for yet another great holiday party.  I look forward to these celebrations because I love our family and it is so great to see so many of the people that I don't get to see on a regular basis all year round. I am truly grateful for all that you do for us Docents.  I know our Docents would agree that what they get from Tribute is so much more than what they give.  I am personally grateful to have Tribute in my life.  Thank you for being the very special people that you are." Joan Mastropaolo, 9/11 Tribute Center Board Member & Volunteer Guide  

 

Although "9/11" is heard in the news daily by our young people, many have no awareness of what took place. Parents and teachers often avoid teaching about this important topic, in part because they do not know how to approach this complex set of events or it is just too emotional and teachers are vocal about the lack of materials available that help teach it.

 

The 9/11 Tribute Center is uniquely poised to help teachers and parents guide children to understand this history as we have been working closely with students and teachers for over 7 years and have provided leadership to educators in this field.

 

The 9/11 Tribute Center offers students the unique opportunity to learn about September 11th by hearing the personal stories of those who were there. This personal approach bridges the past and present and helps students to grasp the significance and impact of this history. Students have had profound dialogues with our trained guides, both in our galleries and through video chats.

 

Since the Tribute Center's opening in 2006, more than 80,000 school-age children have been inspired by our galleries and by our guides. Online over 42,000 classrooms have utilized our oral history videos and materials for their classrooms. The new common core standards being put into place this year, include the teaching of 9/11 and so we anticipate that many will be seeking appropriate materials over the coming years. Our educational goal is to continue providing teachers and students compelling learning experiences that explore the meaning of 9/11. The new materials for middle school and high school will teach methods of using primary source materials that connect to new common core learning standards.

 

9/11 teaches many lessons. It is an opportunity to teach civics as well as contemporary history.

 

Our current online teacher's toolkit, September 11th: Personal Stories of Transformation, invites students to conduct their own research to discover 9/11 stories in their own communities and to create projects that explore civic engagement. Each of the eight video-story units introduces an individual who was directly impacted by 9/11 and who responded by creating a project to better their communities. In addition to multimedia stories, the toolkit includes thought-provoking questions for classroom discussion, vocabulary definitions, bibliographies, and suggestions for community service projects.