Sunday, September 11, 2022 marks the 21st anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center. For those looking to honor the anniversary, we’ve put together a list of remembrance events including the annual commemoration and St. Paul’s Chapel Bell Toll, as well as ways to donate to 9/11 charities, and more. Whether you prefer to mark the date alone or alongside fellow visitors, here are ways we can all take action and commemorate 9/11.
1. See ‘Tribute in Light’ at Night
Just south of the 9/11 Memorial on the roof of the Battery Parking Garage, the blue twin beams of ‘Tribute in Light’ extend four miles into the sky. Echoing the shape and orientation of the Twin Towers, the public art installation can be seen from up to 60 miles away. The iconic symbol is visible from dusk to dawn on the night of Sept. 11.
2. Donate to 9/11 Charities
Nearly 21 years later, charities are still providing ongoing support to those affected by 9/11. Consider donating to the following groups:
- Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund: Created to help those who lost family members on 9/11 afford higher education. Since 2001, the fund has raised 183.8 million for nearly 4,000 children.
- FDNY Foundation: Honor the city’s firefighters by funding one of their goals like maintaining operational excellence, fire and life safety public education, and ensuring that personnel have the best available training and equipment.
- Never Forget Fund: Created by the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, the fund supports educational programs and helps preserve the facilities as a place of remembrance, reflection, and learning for a new generation.
- New York City Police Foundation: Honor the city’s policemen by making a donation to help them innovate and improve the quality of their services, build bridges with the community, and make NYC a safer place to live, work, and visit.
- Tuesday’s Children: Provides support such as mental health services and career and counseling programs to those effected by terrorism, military conflict, or mass violence attacks.
- Tunnel to Towers Foundation: Supports the families of injured or deceased firefighters, police officers, military members, and other emergency workers.
- USA Cares, Inc.: Provides support, financial assistance, mental health, and post-service skills training to post-9/11 veterans, active military personnel, and their families who were deployed to fight terrorism.
- Wounded Warrior Project: Helps military veterans and service members get back on track by providing mental health treatment, home healthcare, stress management, job placement, and more.
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3. Attend the Annual Bell Ringing Ceremony at St. Paul’s Chapel
Known as the "Little Chapel that Stood," St. Paul’s Chapel stands directly across from the former site of the World Trade Center. Beginning precisely at 8:46 a.m. on Sept. 11 (when the first plane crashed into the North Tower), the Trinity clergy will ring the Bell of Hope in St. Paul’s Churchyard in a pattern “four fives” (five strikes, repeated four times), the traditional firefighters’ salute to the fallen. RSVP in advance.
4. Listen to the 21st Anniversary 9/11 Commemoration
Note that the 9/11 Memorial will be closed to the public until 3 p.m. on Sept. 11 so that 9/11 families may visit privately. Please plan your visit accordingly.
Each year, families of victims gather on the 9/11 Memorial plaza to read aloud the names of the victims killed in the 2001 and 1993 attacks of the World Trade Center. Six moments of silence mark the times when each of the towers were struck, when each fell, and the times corresponding to the attack at the Pentagon and crash of United Flight 93. Watch the live stream beginning at 8:40 a.m. here.
5. Visit the 9/11 Memorial & Museum
Note that the 9/11 Memorial will be closed to the public until 3 p.m. on Sept. 11 and the Museum will be closed beginning at 2 p.m. on Sept. 10 until Sept. 12 so that 9/11 families may visit privately. Please plan your visit accordingly.
Honor the 2,977 people killed in the terror attacks at the site of the former World Trade Center. The 9/11 Memorial & Museum is a place to remember, reflect, and learn about 9/11 through exhibitions, artifacts, archival audio and video, personal testimony, and interactive technology. Inscribed with the names of the victims, the bronze parapets of the Memorial are a stunning site to behold alongside the twin reflecting pools, which feature the largest man-made waterfalls in North America.
If you visit the site any Wednesday around 1:30 p.m., you’ll catch the weekly bagpipe tribute in the Memorial Glade, honoring those who died on 9/11. The Memorial is open daily from 9 a.m. - 8 p.m.; Museum is open Wed. - Mon. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. Closed Tuesday.
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