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The Tribute Center family mourns the death of William "Bill" Butler, 74, who died of World Trade Center-related pulmonary fibrosis on July 13, 2013. Bill was with the FDNY for 33 years, rising to Captain's rank. His second son, FF Thomas Butler, 37, was killed in the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Bill then joined our Lee Ielpi and other fathers who lost sons at the site. The "Band of Dads" searched together during months of the recovery effort for remains of all victims. Tommy was never identified. We honor Bill and miss him.
In continuing our mission of education, we just held our 2013 Teacher Workshop. We are so privileged to have worked with such a powerful and inspiring group of educators in helping us teach our students about terrorism.
Best wishes,
The Tribute family
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Forty-seven educators gathered together for two stimulating days in early July to participate in Tribute's annual Teacher Workshop, "Understanding our Post 9/11 World: The Impact of Terrorism and Recovery in NYC. " This extremely powerful professional development workshop aimed to help teachers connect their students to this pivotal history through the personal stories of those who were there; discover how the World Trade Center site reflects the chronology of change and growth in New York City, and to explore the impact of terrorism on the 21st century. Teachers passionately role-played a debate on how to fight terrorism and had to present their findings to a mock US Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing. The workshop leaders, the education staff of the 9/11 Tribute Center, partnered with Facing History and Ourselves and the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University to direct the middle and high school teachers. A teacher from Stuyvesant High School delivered a fantastic workshop with extensive resources and teacherly skills on how to incorporate the subject of terrorism into the study of New York. The attending teachers were the stars, however, as they all brought so much insight and enthusiasm to workshop. Many Tribute docents participated and generously shared their stories. The teachers had this to say about the docents' involvement: "Meeting people that turned their tragedy into positive change - they are my heroes... The impact of the oral histories that were shared with us was tremendous and unforgettable." After the workshop, the following comments were written in the concluding evaluation form: "I have a much better sense of how to develop lessons and curriculum. This workshop really reinforced the idea that this is a really crucial part of US history... I learned how to incorporate this subject into other units of study including citizenship and tolerance... Talking with other educators helped me to feel less alone and I am more comfortable with my own feelings about 9/11 and teaching a more complete account of these events." This workshop was funded in part by a grant from the Matthew C. Sellitto Foundation.
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9/11 TRIBUTE CENTER VOLUNTEER RE-CONNECTION EVENT
The Volunteer Program was happy to host an evening of old friends and new faces during the Reconnection Event at Fraunces Tavern this past spring; the old friends being some of our veteran docents and the new faces being our Docent Council. Fraunces Tavern is the renowned location where President Washington bid farewell to his officers of the Continental Army.
The purpose of the reconnection event was simple - to reconnect those veteran guides who have become inactive for one reason or another with our growing Volunteer Program. Our tours moved onto the Memorial Plaza, and the Tribute Center volunteer department has gained dynamism, from storytelling workshops to hardhat tours of the 9/11 Museum. The reconnection event was a moment to share with our foundation-layers, our first guides of the program, the great projects that have been going on at Tribute. The history, elegance, and warmth of Fraunces Tavern were a great backdrop for the evening.
After food and mingling at Fraunces, some of our veteran docents joined us at the 9/11 Tribute Center, where some of our active docents powerfully shared their stories courtesy of the MOTH storytelling workshop. What a fine way to end the night!
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AON-HEWITT LUNCH AND VOLUNTEER DAY
On Thursday, June 6, 2013, several employees from Aon-Hewitt came to the 9/11 Tribute Center for a day-of-service opportunity. In our downstairs gallery at Tribute, the curatorial staff has collected over 30,000 cards written by visitors from all over the world. These cards have been compiled in changing exhibits of the cards; in marketing expressing their feelings about the attacks, the 9/11 Tribute Center, our guides, and their hopes for the future. Some of our cards are in a book called 9/11: The World Speaks. This book is a compilation of thoughts about the attacks from people who visited our galleries.
For their service, Aon employees were treated to a guided tour of the 9/11 Tribute Center galleries and a walking tour of the 9/11 Memorial by our volunteer guides followed by a luncheon. The Aon-Hewitt volunteers spent the day sorting, and in some cases, translating these cards left by visitors.
If your company or organization would like to participate in a service project with the 9/11 Tribute Center, please contact volunteer@tributewtc.org.
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DIALOGUE INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS
In July, the 9/11 Tribute Center hosted 19 student leaders from Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia, who came to the World Trade Center as part of a 5-week study tour with Temple University's Dialogue Institute. The students, of many religions and backgrounds, were chosen based on their likelihood to become future leaders of their countries.
As part of their curriculum, they visited historical and religious sites, in several U.S. cities. Students also studied the origins of American democracy and religious freedom. The Dialogue Institute works to teach skills for engaging in dialogue across religious boundaries, training religious, civic and academic leadership with skills of critical thinking and dialogue. By the end of the program, students are equipped with individual and group action plans as they further their education.
Tribute founder Lee Ielpi and some of the Tribute Center guides spoke intimately with the students, many of whom had only sketchy ideas of what the attacks of September 11th entailed. A frank discussion ensued, from which both sides learned. Tribute has welcomed international students of this program several times, and hopes to continue the tradition.
For more information on Temple University's Dialogue Institute, click here to go to their website.
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SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROJECTS
During the months of June and early July, the Tribute offices were bursting at the seams with the energy and excitement of summer interns. Four interns went tearing through a huge list of projects with zest and focus. They dove into our visitor card collection, sorted, catalogued and selected new cards to exhibit for the public to enjoy. Another intern worked closely with our marketing department, revamping our social media to new heights. Other interns video-recorded docent-led walking tours and begin the editing process so that moments of tours could be shared between docents as a teaching tool. A PhD candidate worked with us over the summer and interviewed visitors about their experiences on the tours. Here are some of the details that she collected: About 65% of our visitors on tours are from the US and 35% are International. 100% of visitors said that they would recommend this tour to others, and, in fact, 40% of the visitors said they came to this tour through a personal recommendation from someone else that had been on a Tribute tour before.
"To hear from someone who was actually here to go through it and still hear the emotion in their voice, it really hits home."
- Visitor from Texas
"I felt sad about everything that did happen...but also hopeful for humanity and how close everyone became and that even though there is so much evil, there's greater good."
- Visitor from Illinois
"I think this tour was more personal because both guides have a personal story to tell and they seemed more passionate about it rather than someone who just does tours all day long. We just came from D.C. and this was my favorite tour.
- Visitor from Arizona
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JOIN OUR EDUCATION CAMPAIGN!
Sponsor one class, so that we can educate every
middle school in New York City.
Teach students about the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and
inspire others in their school community to learn more.
Sponsor one class of 10 students with a $100 gift.
Sponsor one class of 30 students with a $300 gift.
Sponsor 5 classes with a $1,500 gift.
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VISITOR CARDS FROM THE TRIBUTE CENTER
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Here are just a few visitor cards from our extraordinary collection:
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WORLD TRADE CENTER NEWS & EVENTS
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The September 11th Widows and Victims Families' Association, Inc., a 501(c) 3 not-for-profit organization, supports victims of terrorism and their families through education, communication and peer support.
The Tribute WTC Visitor Center, a program of the Association, connects and educates visitors with personal experiences of terrorism. Programs, exhibitions, and tours led by volunteers who experienced the effects of terrorism first-hand convey personal and varied perspectives and inspirational acts of generosity. Programs inspire understanding and compassion among cultures.
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