Visionary Network Launches Community Memorial Beautification Initiative
Ahead of the 20th anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks, the 9/11 Memorial & Museum Visionary Network has launched a memorial beautification initiative to clean and restore community 9/11 memorials.
In the aftermath of 9/11, memorials were created across the country to commemorate the events that took place that day and honor local residents who lost their lives. These memorials – many made with steel recovered from the WTC complex – grew into homegrown centerpieces that underscore the power of loss, sacrifice, and community, and serve as sites for annual tributes. Through the years though, the level of care and time initially put into some memorials have wavered, leaving them in less than pristine condition.
We are now calling on Visionaries to connect with their communities about 9/11 via these memorials. Locate a 9/11 memorial in your area and help preserve it by volunteering to plant flowers, clean the grounds, or simply stopping by to reflect and remember those we lost. The Memorials Registry tracks many 9/11 memorials throughout the world and can help you find one near you. Learn more.
Many Visionaries are already at work in their communities. In coordination with Staten Island Borough President James Oddo and Friends of Postcards, Visionaries volunteered at Staten Island's Postcards Memorial, planting a 9/11 Memorial Survivor Tree seedling. Watch a highlight video.
If you have any questions about the Visionary Network or would like to host a volunteer day at a 9/11 memorial in your community, please email visionary@911memorial.org.
The Visionary Network was founded in early 2020. The primary mission of this network is to bring people between the ages of 21 and 45 together through acts of advocacy, commemoration, and engagement to strengthen their connection to the 9/11 Memorial, ensuring the memory of 9/11, the individuals lost, and those still feeling the consequences stay in our thoughts. The Visionary Network is an essential aspect of making sure the memory of 9/11 is not forgotten in future generations. If you are interested in joining, you can sign up for free here.
By Nathanial Crystal, Government and Community Affairs Intern, 9/11 Memorial & Museum
In conversation with Clifford Chanin, executive vice president and deputy director for museum programs, the program participants shared their personal recollections of 9/11 and its aftermath and discussed the devastating health issues affecting the rescue and recovery community nearly 20 years after the attacks.
Our annual July 4 tradition continues Sunday, when volunteers will place 2,983 American flags in the engraved names on the 9/11 Memorial, in honor of those killed on September 11, 2001 and February 26, 1993.